India’s both warm-up games, against defending champions England in Guwahati and against the Netherlands in Thiruvananthapuram were washed out without a ball being bowled.
Here is a SWOT analysis of the team led by Rohit Sharma:
Previous Best: Winners (1983, 2011)
Current ICC Ranking: No. 1 (in all formats)
STRENGTHS: Home advantage. Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are two of the most prolific ODI batters while Shubman Gill is in red-hot form. Potent pace attack with Bumrah, Siraj and Shami. The late inclusion of off-spinning all-rounder Ashwin makes the attack better rounded, adds experience to the team.
WEAKNESSES: No settled playing XI. No clarity over the middle order and a long tail. Batting nosedives after no. 7. Jadeja’s poor batting form. Shoddy catching. Inconsistent ground fielding.
Google Doodle marks the kickoff of ICC Cricket World Cup 2023
OPPORTUNITIES: Chinaman bowler Kuldeep Yadav has hit a purple patch and could be a key point of difference. Shreyas Iyer‘s numbers at home are inspiring.
THREATS: India has excelled in meaningless bilaterals but fared poorly in key knockout matches in major ICC tournaments. Of late, several Indian batters have displayed a strange vulnerability to spin.
X-FACTOR: Any major tournament tests a team’s skill as well as temperament. Managing pressure would be key to success. Toss could also play vital role, given the dew factor.
FIRE: Mohammed Siraj (World No. 1 bowler)
ICC’s no. 1 bowler, Siraj will be key to India’s new ball success. Only a handful of bowlers can be lethal with both swing and seam. Siraj, 29, belongs to the rare breed
ICE: Shubman Gill (World No. 2 batsman)
The 24-year-old opener from Punjab is in stellar form, having scored 1,230 runs in 20 matches this year. He was also the top scorer at the recent Asia Cup where India won their eighth title.
He is among a handful of batters with a century in each format of the sport, which includes a double hundred against New Zealand in an ODI earlier this year. His partnership with fellow opener captain Rohit Sharma will be vital as India look to repeat their 2011 success.
