India icc cricket world cup 2023 will enter as title contenders and former captain Kapil Dev said on Tuesday that the hosts will have to deal with the burden of expectations to win the trophy again. Two-time champions India will be eyeing another ICC ODI World Cup win after a wait of 12 years during the tournament to be held from October 5 to November 19. On the sidelines of an event of the Karnataka Golf Association, Kapil said, ‘I don’t know what will happen. He has not even announced the team for the World Cup yet. India always enters the tournament as a strong contender and has been so for a long time.
Work load has to be reduced
He said, ‘It depends on how the team deals with the pressure of expectations from all sides. We have won the World Cup at home and I am sure whoever is selected in the team, they can do it again. The World Cup happens in four years and I hope the players will be fully prepared. Kapil Dev said that considering the busy schedule of cricket at this time, importance should be given to workload and injury management.
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Kapil advised to avoid injury
The captain of the Indian team that won the World Cup in 1983 said, ‘My time was different, we hardly played that much cricket. These players have been playing cricket for 10 months now. Therefore management of the body from injuries is important. Everyone’s body is different and they need individual plans to maintain fitness. Kapil played against the West Indies team that used to dominate world cricket and expressed hope that the team would soon regain its old glory days.
West Indies could not qualify for the World Cup
He said, ‘It is sad to see that West Indies is not playing the World Cup. It is difficult to imagine an ODI tournament (World Cup) without him. They have produced so many great players. I hope he will make a comeback. Let us tell you that West Indies could not qualify in the ODI World Cup qualifiers that started last month. A strong team like Sri Lanka also had to play the qualifiers, but it qualified for the ODI World Cup by being ranked number one.
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Yashasvi and Mukesh Kumar shine against West Indies
Young opener Yashasvi Jaiswal displayed composure and fluidity in his debut match which turned out to be a positive aspect of the just-concluded two-Test series against the West Indies but the real test for the Indian team will be in the tour of South Africa. India won the test series against West Indies as expected. India’s clean sweep in the series was believed to be certain, but the second Test match was washed away by rain, due to which the Indian team was able to win 1-0. This series was crucial for Rohit Sharma as captain and batsman and he lived up to both the roles perfectly.
Rohit Sharma returned to form
Rohit scored 240 runs in three innings. Apart from him, Virat Kohli scored 197 runs in two innings. This will also help both these top batsmen in the ODI series. There is a lack of skilled players in the West Indies team and in such a situation, the Indian team going through a change cannot assess their performance properly. The real test of their batsmen will be in South Africa where they will have to face bowlers like Enrique Norquia, Kagiso Rabada and Lugi Ngidi. India tried some new players in the West Indies, including Jaiswal who faced 387 balls on his Test debut. He showed that he knows where his off stump is and which ball to leave. With this skill, he was able to tire the bowlers.
Rahane did not live up to the expectations
Jaiswal played an aggressive innings of 38 runs in 30 balls in the second innings of the second Test match and showed that he can score very fast runs when needed. Their real test though will be from December 2023 to January 2025 when India have to face South Africa, England, New Zealand and Australia. Ajinkya Rahane must also have been surprised when he was appointed vice-captain for this tour. He was given this responsibility after scoring 89 runs in the final of the World Test Championship against Australia. However, his bat did not work in the West Indies and after the fitness of Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul, Rahane may have to leave space for him in the middle order.
