The International Cricket Council (ICC) has announced the schedule for the 2023 ODI World Cup to be held in India. The tournament starts on October 5 with the 2019 finalists, England and New Zealand, taking each other on at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
With less than 100 days remaining for the ODI World Cup 2023, the excitement and anticipation are building up. India, one of the favorites for the tournament, are eager to end their ICC trophy drought. The team’s last ICC title came in the 2013 Champions Trophy while their memorable ODI World Cup victory was in 2011 under the leadership of MS Dhoni.
Following the schedule announcement, former India head coach Ravi Shastri shared his thoughts on India’s combination for the upcoming World Cup. Shastri, who has experience of working with the current set of players, believed that Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill should not be the opening pair for the mega event.
Although Rohit and Gill have been India’s go-to opening pair in ODIs, Shastri’s view is that this combination may not be suitable for the World Cup because neither of them is a left-hander.
“No, that is going to be a challenge. You will have to see closer to the event. Form again becomes important. You need to strike the right balance. Do you think a left-hander will make a difference at the top? It does not have to be opening, but in the top three or four. You have to weigh all those options. Ideally, in the top six, I would like to see two left-handers,” Shastri said in an interview with The Week.
The 61-year-old also opined that there should be at least two left-handed batters in the top six in the lineup.
“Ideally, in the top six, I would like to see two left-handers,” the veteran cricketer added.
To support his statement, Shastri pointed to the 2011 World Cup, where the contributions of left-handed batters Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh, and Suresh Raina played a significant role in India’s success.
“Whenever you have done well [left-handers contributed]. In 2011, you had [Gautam] Gambhir, Yuvraj [Singh] and [Suresh] Raina. Go back to 1974… [Alvin] Kallicharran, [Roy] Fredericks, [Clive] Lloyd…. The same in 1979. The 1983 team was the only one that did not have a left-hander, but that whole tournament was against all odds,” the cricketer-turned-commentator said.
He also mentioned examples from the Australian and Sri Lankan squads in the 1987 and 1996 World Cups, which had successful left-handed batters.
“In 1987, Australia had enough… they had [Allan] Border at the top, they had another two or three, down the order. In 1996 Sri Lanka proved it again, with [Sanath] Jayasuriya, [Arjuna] Ranatunga, [Asanka] Gurusinha. And then Australia, with the Gilchrists and the Haydens. England have it now. That mix and balance has to be created,” Shastri concluded.
India will get their tournament underway against Australia on October 8, which is scheduled to be held in Chennai.
