Hyderabad: India always entered the World Cup with high expectations as they are a cricket-crazy nation. Mahendra Singh Dhoni was the last captain who brought India unprecedented success leading the side to world title in multiple ICC tournaments. However, India has been struggling to emerge victorious in an ICC trophy after winning the Champions Trophy in 2013. They have been constantly entering the knockouts but faltering at crucial junctures against big teams.
This time around they have bright chances to shine by lifting the World Cup as the odds are heavily stacked in their favour. India has a strong spin unit and a set of quality batters, which is the perfect formula for success on Indian soil. Further, they have a home advantage which will inspire players to produce a clinical performance. Thus, India are firm favourites to win the title this time around but mighty opponents like Australia and England are going to pose them a tough challenge.
Strength
India are coming into the tournament on the back of a stupendous form. They won the Asia Cup 2023 and beat Australia in the ODI series 2-1. The in-form batting unit will be their biggest strength as the pitches are likely to help batters score. Skipper Rohit Sharma has scored three fifties in the last four ODI innings he has played. Along with him ace batter Virat Kohli has displayed great form while youngster Shubman Gill notched two 50+ scores in the latest series against Australia and was also the top run-scorer in the Asia Cup. KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer have also been in good touch and India's batting unit looks to be in a strong position.
Kuldeep Yadav has been consistent with his wicket-taking ability and he will be leading spin unit for India with Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja complementing the bowler. Mohammed Siraj wreaked havoc with the ball in the final of the Asia Cup while Mohammed Shami was on fire in the Australia series registering a five-wicket haul. All in all, India seems to be the firm favourites but there are some factors which can affect their chance of lifting the trophy.
Weakness
Most of the batters in the Indian team are right-handers so they lack a left-handed batting option with Ishan Kishan likely to be excluded from playing XI. By benching Ishan, the Men in Blue might miss an option of attacking the leg-spinners who take away the ball from the right-handers. Also with KL Rahul being a part-time wicketkeeper, the absence of a specialist wicketkeeper might affect their chances of dismissing batters.
Also, India is focused on increasing their batting depth by playing Shardul Thakur in the lower order instead of a bowling all-rounder. Shardul has an economy rate of 6.24 from 44 ODIs which is not a very decent number. In such a scenario, quality bowlers like Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj or Ravichandran Ashwin might have to sit out.
Also, a constant change in recent times has created confusion over the team combination preferred by the Indian side. They will have to sort out their priorities in the middle order and should also choose between playing three specialist pacers, three spin options or playing an all-rounder to add to the batting depth before the marquee event.
There is one more thing which might go unnoticed. Rohit and Co. are known to play with a cautious approach and that can be costly on flat pitches. Such an approach could restrict them to a below-par total against mighty oppositions.
Threat
India's biggest challenge will be taking on teams with aggressive batters like England and Australia on flat surfaces. While the opposition will go all guns blazing, Indian batting might fail to capitalise in such situations. Also, considering India's performances in the World Cup knockouts in the last few years, their batting unit has to step up to the occasion without allowing the pressure of the big stage or scoreboard to affect them.
Opportunity
Shubman Gill has a grand opportunity to own the world stage by continuing his prolific form in ODIs. He has amassed 1,230 runs with a super average of 72.35 in the 50-over format. He is looked upon as the future star of Indian cricket and there wouldn't be a more suitable opportunity for the cricketer to prove his mettle.
Ishan Kishan is another youngster who will have a chance to showcase his batting prowess as well as display wicketkeeping skills in case he gets included in the playing XI. He has the ability to demolish bowling attacks with his aggressive gameplay but a little bit more composure might turn him into a consistent player for the national side.
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