The teams of other cricketing nations have started arriving in India for the ICC ODI World Cup 2023 which is slated to be played in India from 5 October and the discussions between the cricket experts regarding the teams which will play semi-finals/finals are also in full swing now.
During a panel discussion which had Waqar Younis (former Pakistani cricketer), Irfan Pathan (former Indian cricketer) and Dale Steyn (former South African cricketer), the experts were asked to tell the names of the teams which will be the finalists in their opinion.
The former Indian cricketer Irfan Pathan states that it is really tough not to keep England in the finals because they have a very strong team, they have all-rounders till the number 9 and they are playing some great cricket in the present times but he has a strong feeling that South Africa will play some great cricket in this tournament. Irfan Pathan says that he strongly feels it will be India and South Africa in the finals and it will be India that will win the trophy as India is in the best form now and it has ticked all the boxes at the right time.
The former South African cricketer Dale Steyn says that it is really a tough one and his heart really wants to see South Africa in the finals as there are many guys who regularly play in India as they play in the IPL and have performed well. He adds that players like KG Rabada, David Millier, etc. have started understanding the Indian conditions but still he is not so sure and he will like to go with what Waqar Younis said. Dale Steyn adds that India is certainly one of the finalists for him, though his heart wants to see South Africa in the finals yet he will go with India and England in the finals.
The first match of the tournament will be played between England and New Zealand on 5 October at Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad, and India will start its campaign from 8 October with a match against Australia at Chennai.