ICC ODI World Cup 2023: 'India are one of the favourites' to win tournament, says Sri Lanka legend Muttiah Muralitharan

Team India goes into the 2023 ODI World Cup as favourites, believes Sri Lankan spin legend Muttiah Muralitharan. “I am looking forward to India vs England. India are one of the favourites because they are playing at home and they know how to win in India. This is going to be a very interesting match and I want to watch it,” Muralitharan said at an event in Mumbai where the World Cup schedule was announced. India last won the World Cup 12 years ago in 2011, when they co-hosted the tournament along with Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. And India beat Sri Lanka in the final to end a 28-year wait for a second World Cup victory. The final at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium also happened to be Muralitharan’s final international game. Read | Full schedule of Indian team in 2023 ICC ODI World Cup Since the 2011 World Cup only the host countries have won the Cup. Australia won the 2015 title which they co-hosted with New Zealand in 2019 England won the tournament played in England and Wales. The pitches in the upcoming World Cup will favour the teams from the sub-continent, believes Virender Sehwag who has played the summit event thrice. However, he also cautioned that Afghanistan may not be able to make the most of it as they don’t have as strong a batting line-up. “The pitches will favour the sub-continental teams. India and Sri Lanka have good spin attacks. Afghanistan do not have a great batting line-up but they have very good spinners. In 2011, the two best teams came to the final and the better team won,” Sehwag said. Read | India and Pakistan set for mega clash on 15 October in Ahmedabad The World Cup will open on 5 October with defending champions England taking on 2019 runners-up New Zealand. India will start their campaign just three days after on 8 October with against five-time ODI world champions Australia in Chennai. India’s most anticipated clash with Pakistan will take place on 15 October at Ahmedabad. This would be the eighth World Cup clash between the traditional rivals. So far India has won all the matches. The tournament will run for more than a month and conclude with the final on 19 November. Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News, India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.