“Out of these three, one of them will probably win” - India’s 1983 World Cup hero picks his favorites for 2023 edition

India’s 1983 World Cup batting star Kris Srikkanth has named hosts India, five-time winners Australia and defending champions England as his favorites to win the World Cup 2023.

The former player explained that while home conditions will give the Men in Blue a significant advantage, Australia and England, too, have good experience of playing in India due to the IPL.

The schedule for World Cup 2023 was released on Tuesday (June 27) by the International Cricket Council and the Board of Control for Cricket in India. The tournament will be held across ten venues in India from October 5 to November 19.

Following the much-awaited announcement of the schedule, Srikkanth shared his thoughts on India Today about the teams he feels have a good chance of lifting the trophy:

“India are one of the favorites. Let’s be honest, there is an Australian team, which is also a very good side, and England has been very good.

"I believe that Australians play well in India, too. I would say India, Australia, England, out of these three, one of them will probably win the cup.”

The former player went on to praise defending champions England, who have turned around their fortunes in sensational fashion since an embarrassing early exit in the 2015 edition.

Hailing England’s aggressive style of play, Srikkanth, who himself was known for his swashbuckling batting, said:

“They have started attacking the bowling right from the beginning, be it Test cricket, T20 cricket or one-day cricket. Their methodology has changed from the loss in the 2015 World Cup.

"We’ve seen it in the 2019 World Cup, and you see the Ashes Test series going on now. Even there, it was close match (at Edgbaston), though England lost."

Srikkanth added:

“I would say Australia are better favorites than England as far as playing in India is concerned. Lot of these Aussies play T20s, the IPL in India, so they are used to Indian conditions.

"But yes, lot of England players are also playing and getting used to Indian conditions. That’s why I say, one of these three countries (India, England, Australia) ...” Srikkanth added.

The 2023 World Cup will begin with a repeat of the 2019 final between England and New Zealand at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on October 5.

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India, England and Australia’s ODI World Cup triumphs

Australia are the most successful team in ODI World Cup history. They won the crown for the first time in 1987 in India. Later, they completed a hat-trick of wins, registering triumphs in 1999, 2003 and 2007. Their last one-day World Cup win came at home in 2015.

Meanwhile, Kapil Dev-led India stunned West Indies in the 1983 World Cup final to win the title for the first time. After 28 years, they won the competition in India (2011) under MS Dhoni’s inspirational leadership.

Coming to England, they finished runners-up thrice - 1979, 1987 and 1992 - before winning their maiden one-day World Cup in 2019 at Lord’s, beating New Zealand in a sensational final on the boundary count rule.