Former Pakistan fast bowler Mohammad Amir ditched Babar Azam‘s side and picked Rohit Sharma’s Team India as “hot favourites” to win the upcoming World Cup 2023 in India.
The last time India hosted the ODI World Cup, in 2011, MS Dhoni’s team won India’s second ODI WC trophy. Now, Rohit Sharma’s unit is picked as firm favorites to win the trophy once again, and end India’s decade-long ICC title drought.
India are coming into the tournament as the recently crowned number 1 ranked ODI Men’s team in the ICC ranking. They attained this ranking on the back of their win in the Asia Cup 2023 and the ODI series win over Australia.
Winning in India is not an easy job: Mohammad Amir
The 31-year-old former Pakistan pacer Mohammad Amir recently spoke with the Times Of India. He said that with the tournament being played in India, the Men In Blue are certain title contenders, and that it would take a team to play out of their skins to defeat them.
“India are obviously hot favourites as they are playing in India. Whichever team plays against India, they need to give their 110 per cent. India are a dangerous side in their own conditions. Winning in India is not an easy job. When you go to Australia, every team struggles. Likewise, every team struggles when they visit India. Rohit Sharma’s India will be a hot favourite to win the World Cup,” Mohammad Amir said.
India and Pakistan will meet on October 14 at the iconic Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. This will be their third ODI meeting this year. In the Asia Cup, one of their matches was washed out, while in the other, India blew away Pakistan courtesy of centuries from Virat Kohli and KL Rahul and a five-wicket haul from Kuldeep Yadav.
India squad for World Cup 2023: Rohit Sharma (c), Hardik Pandya (vc), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav.
Pakistan squad for World Cup 2023: Babar Azam (c), Shadab Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Abdullah Shafique, Mohammad Rizwan, Saud Shakeel, Iftikhar Ahmed, Salman Ali Agha, Mohammad Nawaz, Usama Mir, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Afridi, Mohammad Wasim.
