After 12 years and a space of 2 World Cups, India will host the 2023 ODI World Cup later this year.
India won the 2011 World Cup at home, and the fans will hope for the Men In Blue to repeat the feat this year, and by that, also end their ICC trophy drought that dates back to 2013, the last time Indian senior men’s team won an ICC trophy – 2013 Champions Trophy in England under the captaincy of MS Dhoni.
Now, under the captaincy of Rohit Sharma, who along with Virat Kohli, will play what is all but certain to be both of theirs last ODI World Cup, India will once again start as firm favorites.
When will the 2023 World Cup start?
At the moment, we only know that the 2023 World Cup will be played in the months of October and November. The ICC have not yet finalized the dates of the start and final of the tournament.
Originally, the 2023 World Cup was scheduled to be played from 9 February to 26 March 2023. But because of the delay caused by the pandemic in the schedule of the two T20 World Cups in 2021 and 2022, both of which were held in the months of October with the final in November, the 2023 World Cup was also postponed from February-March to October-November.
How many teams will play in the 2023 World Cup?
Similar to the 2019 edition, 10 teams will feature in the 2023 World Cup. The tournament will be played in a simple round-robin format, with each team contesting with 9 others. The top 4 will proceed to the semi-final, and the winners of the two semi-finals will meet in the final.
Which teams have qualified for the 2023 World Cup?
So far the 7 teams have qualified for the 2023 World Cup are: hosts India, England, New Zealand, Australia, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan.
That means only one of West Indies, South Africa, Sri Lanka and Ireland have a chance for the remaining spot to avoid the qualifiers.
The route to the direct qualification – 8 teams – is through the ongoing ODI Super League, which consists of 13 nations. Apart from hosts India, 7 others teams will be given a direct entry in the tournament. The remaining 5 teams along with five Associate will compete in the 2023 Cricket World Cup Qualifier in Zimbabwe, and two teams will go through to the tournament in India
Will India host the 2023 World Cup alongside other countries like Bangladesh, Sri Lanka?
No, India are the sole host of the 2023 World Cup, unlike 2011, where Bangladesh and Sri Lanka co-hosted with India.
