The ICC ODI World Cup 2023 is scheduled to be played in the months of October-November and veteran cricketers have started sharing their predictions ahead of the marquee tournament. Former Australian pacer Glenn McGrath too shared his prediction and has included Pakistan among the Top 4 contenders to win the World Cup.
The World Cup will feature ten teams, in the same round-robin league format that was seen in the 2019 World Cup. While the Indian team being the hosts, certainly looks favourite to win the tournament, there are a few other teams as well who look pretty strong on paper.
Glenn McGrath picks Top 4 Contenders to win ODI World Cup 2023
The legendary Australian pacer was asked about the top contenders in an interview with the Times of India. McGrath stated that the Indian team is an obvious choice while he also picked Australia, England and Pakistan in the top 4.
“You wouldn’t be surprised that I’m putting Australia in that four. Obviously, India are playing in their own conditions. England is playing some great cricket and Pakistan is also playing fine. So, they are the best four,” McGrath told Times of India.
Glenn McGrath himself has won the title three times and had contributed massively for the success of the Australian team in the marquee tournament. He was a part of the World Cup-winning team in 1999 under Steve Waugh and in 2003 and 2007 under the leadership of Ricky Ponting.
It’s worth mentioning that former England skipper Eoin Morgan too had earlier picked India, England, Australia and Pakistan as the contenders to win the ICC ODI World Cup 2023. Morgan led his team to clinch the World Cup title in 2019 in their home conditions.
It is worth mentioning that the last three ODI World Cups have been won by the host teams. Team India clinched the title in 2011 while Australia and England won the tournament in 2015 and 2019 respectively.
While the Men in Blue will look to continue the same trend as they will try to lift the World Cup trophy in home conditions, the subcontinent conditions will also favor the Babar Azam-led Pakistan side.
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On the other hand, both England and Australia too have displayed great form in the recent past and will certainly look to dominate in this tournament as well. Meanwhile, the tournament will begin on October 5 with the opening game being between England and New Zealand.