The 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup is taking place in India. The last time India hosted the competition was in 2011 when MS Dhoni led the team to their second ICC Cricket World Cup win. This year, the bookmakers make India the betting favourites to win the trophy again.
🏆 Cricket World Cup 2023: Odds for India to win
The competition for Rohit Sharma and his India team will be very tough. India are 9/5 to win the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup. England is the defending champion and second favourite at 3/1. Australia, who also look very strong, are at 4/1. Both sides offer a real threat to the 2023 host’s chances of winning the World Cup. But home advantage is key. The previous three World Cups were all won by the hosts, and this is reflected in the latest 2023 Cricket World Cup odds, where India is the favourite with all the leading cricket betting sites.
🏏 Who are India’s main competitors?
Of the ten teams in the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup, only seven have realistic chances of lifting the trophy. It will be extremely difficult for Afghanistan, Bangladesh or the Netherlands to qualify for the semi-finals, and a successful tournament for any of the three will probably be claiming the name of a big scalp during the group stage.
The six nations best equipped to stop India from winning the trophy are England, Australia, Pakistan, New Zealand, South Africa and Sri Lanka. All offer different levels of threat, with some more dangerous than others.
The two strongest-looking rivals for India look to be England and Australia. Pakistan and South Africa would be more regarded as dark horses, with New Zealand and Sri Lanka the outsiders of the six.
🥇 The biggest threat – England
Starting with England, they are the defending champions, having won the title for the first time in their history in 2019. The 2019 team was led by Eoin Morgan, who has now retired and spends his time in various cricket commentary boxes.
Jos Buttler took over from Morgan, and although the Rajasthan Royals star is a gun batter, he doesn’t possess the same leadership instincts his predecessor did.
Buttler did lead England to the 2022 T20 World Cup. He also now has Ben Stokes back in the fold, after the all-rounder reversed his decision to retire and made himself available to defend the trophy. Together, the duo make up for the loss of Morgan’s leadership through a combination of experience and big-game temperament.
The leg-spin of Adil Rashid and the pace of Mark Wood will also be vital. If England can get those four all firing together, they will have a real chance of defending the trophy.
The main negative for England is the form of Joe Root. The calculation is that players of that ability don’t stay out of form for long. But it is a worry. Mark Wood is also injury-prone. And if he starts picking up niggles, England could struggle as his main backup Gus Atkinson, is very inexperienced.
🥈 On England’s heels – Australia
Australia looks to have most options covered in 50-over cricket. They have strong hitters at the top of the order, the calmness of Steve Smith, explosive late-order hitting, decent spin-bowling all-rounders, and a pace trio that would get into any team in the world. Their biggest problem is fitting them all into the playing eleven.
Getting the balance of the team right could be the difference between winning or losing the World Cup for the Aussies. Bizarrely, the injuries to Travis Head and Ashton Agar may have made selection issues easier. Australia can now fit both Steve Smith and Cameron Green into the team. And there is also now no longer a debate about how many spinners to include.
Travis Head is expected to be available at a later date. That could be a positive if the middle order needs a boost. But it could also affect the balance of the team should he return in place of an all-rounder. Getting the balance right, along with keeping Cummins, Hazlewood and Starc on the pitch are crucial to Australia’s chances.
🥉 Not to be discounted – South Africa
How serious is the threat posed by South Africa and Pakistan? Both teams seem to be going under the radar, but both have teams well able to compete with the best, and also probably upset the three betting favourites.
Starting with South Africa, they have the explosive power of Quinton de Kock and Reeza Hendricks. Are they both better suited to T20? Possibly. But they are still a threat. Aiden Markram is another player who is dangerous on the world scene, and skipper Temba Bavuma has finally found some form with the bat in the 50-over game.
In the bowling department, the Proteas have the spin duo of Tabraiz Shamsi and Keshav Maharaj. Then there is the express pace of Lungi Ngidi, Kagiso Rabada and Marco Jansen, and the all-round skills of David Miller. What is there not to like about this team?
🃏 The wildcards – Pakistan
Pakistan are yet another talented bunch of players. They probably come up short with the bat, relying too much on the skills of Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan. But they have an all-round bowling department that is not too far off the equal of the favourites.
The other side of their game that lets them down, is their discipline in the field. All too often, casual fielding costs the 1992 champions with dropped catches and misfields costing them wins. In tight games, that can be the difference. To have a chance of winning, Pakistan will need some of their batters to support Azam and Rizwan, and a vast improvement in the field.
🥝 The unlikely contenders – New Zealand
The final two sides with a small chance are New Zealand and Sri Lanka. Starting with New Zealand, they have reached the last two World Cup finals, losing convincingly to Australia in 2015, and by the tightest of margins to England in 2019.
This Kiwi team seems to be on the way down the other side of the mountain though. It feels like they have gone past their peak, and this could be a competition too far for them.
It is dangerous to write them off. And with this being the last hurrah for some of their more experienced players, they might be more determined than ever to secure a World Cup win.
🙏 The total underdogs – Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka will harbour hopes they can rekindle the spirit of 1996, but this side looks too short of experienced players to compete with the big guns. Their ranking puts them closer to Bangladesh and Afghanistan than it does to New Zealand, England and South Africa. Their lack of top-class batters was exposed when they were bowled out for just 50 in the final of the 2023 Asia Cup.
Kusal’s Perera and Mendis are dangerous, but they can’t carry the team. The Sri Lankans only avoided being lumped in with Afghanistan, Bangladesh and the Netherlands for this article by the skin of their teeth. We don’t see them being a threat to India’s chances of winning the World Cup.
🎁 Are there any special betting offers for India to win the ICC Men’s World Cup 2023?
During the competition, there are some great Cricket World Cup betting offers available.
Rajabets is running a competition that sees the top 250 performers claim their stake of a 25 Lakh Prize Pool. This includes a cool 500,000 INR for the winner. The prizes are paid out as bonus money with 1x wagering requirements. To enter, simply place bets on the World Cup. The more bets you win, the more points you get and the better chance you have of winning one of the 250 bonus money prizes.
Pure Win is offering a deposit match-up for new customers of up to ₹10,000 that can be used on any sports bet, including India to win the World Cup.
While Bettilt is offering a 70% welcome bonus up to ₹37,000 with three free bets thrown in. All excellent offers that make betting on the Cricket World Cup even more fun.
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