The ICC ODI World Cup 2023 is set to begin on October 5 with a couple of teams entering the tournament with the ‘favourites’ tag. Ahead of the marquee tournament, legendary Indian batter Sunil Gavaskar has picked England as the favourites to lift the World Cup trophy considering the kind of talent they have got.
The Jos Butler-led side had won the 2019 ODI World Cup defeating New Zealand on their home soil. They also clinched the 2022 T20 World Cup title after defeating Pakistan in the final in the Australian conditions.
Sunil Gavaskar backs England to defend the World Cup Title
In the show ‘Mission World Cup’ on Star Sports, the former Indian batter was asked to pick his favorite for the ODI World Cup 2023. He backed Butler’s army to defend the title considering the kind of talent they have got in all the three departments.
“The defending champions, England, because of the kind of talent that they have at, at the top of the order, the batting order, they’ve got two or three world-class all-rounders who can change the game with both bat and ball,” Gavaskar stated while speaking to Star Sports.
“They’ve also got a very good bowling line-up, an experienced bowling line-up, so at the moment in my book certainly,” the legendary batter further added about the English side.
The English side has come into the mega tournament in some blistering form in the 50-over format of the game. They defeated New Zealand by 3-1 and Ireland by 1-0 in the recently concluded ODI series which would have certainly boosted their morale.
The Jos Buttler-led side have got a plethora of options to choose from in their 15-member squad for the ICC ODI World Cup 2023. The likes of Ben Stokes, Chris Woakes, Moeen Ali and Liam Livingstone provide them all-round options in both the spin and pace department.
The depth in their batting lineup allows their top-order batters to play aggressive cricket right from the word go. The presence of exceptional batters like Jos Buttler, Ben Stokes, David Malan and Jonny Bairstow certainly provide them the favorites tag going into the showpiece event.
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The English team will play two warm-up matches against Team India in Guwahati on September 30 and against the Bangladesh side at the same venue on October 2. They will then face New Zealand in their first league game in Ahmedabad on October 5 while their next league match is scheduled against Bangladesh on October 10.