The ICC ODI World Cup 2023 will be played in India from October 5 onwards. It will feature 10 teams who will play 48 games across 10 venues in India. The Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad will host both the opening match and the final on November 19.
All 10 teams have announced their finalised 15-member squads by the deadline. Bangladesh and Lanka announced right on the day of the deadline. While India had to make a forced change in their lineup at the last minute.
Some of the squads are very strong and have been picked keeping Indian conditions in mind. Other few teams had to compromise with their final 15 when it came to choosing the best. Reasons varied from injuries to unavailability, but the best 15 were picked.
Keeping this in mind, here are all 10 teams ranked based on their squads:
10. Netherlands
Netherlands ODI Team. (Photo Source: Twitter)
Netherlands will be captained by Scott Edwards and were the most impressive team in the ICC World Cup Qualifiers. They made it into the finals and qualified for the ICC World Cup 2023. They have a squad ranging from a 20-year-old India-born opening batter Vikramjit Singh to 39-year-old veteran Wesley Barresi. They also have Bas de Leede, Teja Nidamanuru, and Max O’Dowd.
Between them, they have the versatility of Bas de Leede and Logan van Beek, the wisdom of Scott Edwards and Colin Ackermann, and the belief of a group of people who are here to have a good time. They have the experience of Colin Ackermann, Shariz Ahmad, and Roelof van der Merwe.
But their biggest weakness is that they do not have any renowned spinners except Roelof van der Merwe and maybe Aryan Dutt. And their batters are poorly equipped to play world-class spinners that the opposition have. They will have a tough time adding to their two World Cup wins thus far, which came against Scotland and Namibia.
9. Afghanistan
Afghanistan A. (Photo Source: Youtube/ACC)
Afghanistan have always tried to punch above their weight in big tournaments. They are coming off some decent results in the bilateral ODI and T20I series. They defeated a second-string Pakistan and Bangladesh, respectively. The Afghan Atalans are heavily dependent on their spin bowlers like Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Noor Ahmad, and Mohammad Nabi.
Batting-wise, they have potential in Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, and Nabi once again, but lack any big names in the middle order. It was evident from their two-run defeat against Sri Lanka in Asia Cup 2023. While their bowling did extremely well, the batting failed to come to the party and the Afghans lost a golden chance for Super 4s qualification.
The top-order and the spin department will be the cornerstone of their campaign. Their middle order and pace attack is somewhat weaker against better oppositions. This might make the difference between misery and ecstasy for Afghanistan.
8. Bangladesh
Bangladesh. (Photo Source: MUNIR UZ ZAMAN/AFP via Getty Images)
Bangladesh has been one of the best teams in ODIs given that between 2020-2022, Bangladesh won 21 out of 30 ODIs they played. They are witnessing a slight slump in 2023, but cannot be ruled out. Their best performance in a World Cup was in 2015 when they famously defeated England to reach the quarter-finals.
Bangladesh squad sees experience mixed with youth in both batting and bowling. Shakib Al Hasan, Litton Das, Mushfiqur Rahim, and Mahmudullah with experience, have to gel well with Towhid Hridoy, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Tanzid Hasan Tamim, and others to bear fruits in batting. Mustafizur Rahman and Taskin Ahmed will have Hasan Mahmud, Shoriful Islam, and Tanzim Hasan Sakib for company in the pace department.
They are top-notch in every area and have the majority of the bases covered. They may very well make it to the World Cup semifinals for the first time with a few cool heads and a little bit of luck.
7. Sri Lanka
Sri Lankan Cricket Team. (Photo Source: Pankaj Nangia/Getty Images)
Sri Lanka suffered two huge blows as Wanindu Hasaranga and Dushmantha Chameera were ruled out of the World Cup 2023 due to injuries. However, they did welcome back a few pacers like Lahiru Kumara and Dilshan Madushanka from injuries. This made their bowling much more potent with Dunith Wellalage and Maheesh Theekshana being their prime spinners.
In the batting, Sri Lanka have the experience of Kusal Perera, Dimuth Karunaratne, Kusal Mendis, Pathum Nissanka, and Dhananjaya de Silva. Youngster Sadeera Samarawickrama has done well along with Charith Asalanka. However, their batting is prone to collapses like the one that happened in the Asia Cup 2023 final.
It will be up to their bowlers to lead the way and the batters to make it up when their chances come. But a team can also be liberated by not having high expectations going into a World Cup. A similar outcome will be desired by Sri Lanka.
6. Pakistan
Pakistan-Team. (Photo Source: Twitter)
Pakistan were seeing all roses and good things until one game against India in Asia Cup 2023, ruined their good dream. From there, Babar Azam and Co. just couldn’t get back together and failed to make it into the final. On top of that, they lost Naseem Shah to an injury, weakening their bowling attack. Also, the squad which the PCB chief selector Inzamam Ul Haq unveiled, caused more questions to arise than answers.
Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, and Fakhar Zaman remain the cornerstones of Pakistani batting. Then they have individual sparks from Imam Ul Haq and Iftikhar Ahmed. In the spin department, Shadab Khan is out of form Mohammad Nawaz has been ineffective, while Usama Mir is short of game time.
Their whole batting hinges on Babar and Rizwan, while the bowling will be shouldered by Shaheen Afridi and Haris Rauf. God forbid any of these get injured in the tournament, Pakistan has not thought of proper backups as well. Their batting is way behind their opposition in terms of scoring rates as well.
5. South Africa
South Africa. (Photo Source: Sydney Seshibedi/Gallo Images)
South Africa has banked on a real mixture of first-timers and experienced players in their squad for the World Cup 2023. In the current squad, De Kock, Miller, Van der Dussen, Rabada, Ngidi, Markram, and Shamsi are the only ones to have played a World Cup match. Captain Temba Bavuma himself will be playing his first World Cup.
However, they are familiar with the conditions with multiple players being part of the Indian Premier League. They have a good batting lineup but not all of them are in form. Their bowling will miss Anrich Nortje, but Kagiso Rabada and Lungi Ngidi with Gerald Coetzee will have to make up for him.
One glaring issue with the South African squad is a lack of proper all-rounder. Though they have Andile Phehlukwayo and Marco Jansen to do that job, none can match what Lance Klusener used to bring to the table. They are also going for pace over spin with only Keshav Maharaj and Tabraiz Shamsi being the pure spinners with Aiden Markram for company.
4. New Zealand
New Zealand. (Photo Source: MUNIR UZ ZAMAN/AFP via Getty Images)
Two-time finalists, New Zealand have backed Kane Williamson to get fit in the early stages of the tournament and will lead the side. Their batting is very effective with Tom Latham, Devon Conway, and Will Young at the top. Then they have their attacking batters in Daryl Mitchell, Mark Chapman, and Glenn Phillips.
Coming to the all-rounders, Rachin Ravindra, Mitchell Santner, and Jimmy Neesham can all bowl 10 overs and bat aggressively. Ish Sodhi is the lone pure spinner in the squad. Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, and Trent Boult will bring the heat with their pace, while Tim Southee will be the experienced fast bowler.
New Zealand seems to be the perfect blend of players who excel at what they do. On top of that, multiple players of the Kiwi squad are regular members of IPL teams and have extensive experience playing in India. They just need a bit of luck to go all the way this time.
3. England
England team pic in ODI (Photo Source: Twitter)
The defending champions England shocked the world by dropping experienced Jason Roy from the final squad to replace him with the exciting Harry Brook. They have a strong and experienced squad containing several players who were either part of the 2019 World Cup victory the 2022 T20 World Cup victory, or both. And then Ben Stokes decided to un-retire from ODIs and recently smacked the highest ODI score by an Englishman- 182.
Their batting has aggression in the blood right from Jonny Bairstow, Dawid Malan, and Jos Buttler to Liam Livingstone, Ben Stokes, and Moeen Ali. All of them can destroy any bowling attack on their day, even Joe Root, who has tweaked his game to fit into this new England side. They are banking on experienced spinners Ali and Adil Rashid, with help from Root and Livingstone.
England’s bowling is the perfect mix of left-arm pace, right-arm pace, and express pace. Sam Curran, Reece Topley, and David Willey will have the company of Mark Wood and Chris Woakes, along with newbie Gus Atkinson. They are going for the World Cup trophy this time as well.
2. Australia
Australian Cricket Team. (Photo Source: Pankaj Nangia/Getty Images)
The Australian team is filled with all-rounders from top to bottom. So much so that they have banked on only one specialist spinner in their squad- Adam Zampa. With Ashton Agar unfit, instead of calling in a second spinner, the five-time world champs included Marnus Labuschagne in the squad.
They have banked on Mitchell Marsh, Marcus Stoinis, Cameron Green, Glenn Maxwell, and Sean Abbott to fill whatever gaps they have in their lineup. Steve Smith, Alex Carey, David Warner, and Marnus Labuschagne will form the crux of their batting. They are backing Travis Head to get fit in the latter half of the tournament as well.
In their pace lineup, they have experience in Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, and Mitchell Starc. However, they do not have the same type of backups if any of these three get injured at any point in the tournament. It remains to be seen whether Australia can make it into the knockouts this time.
1. India
Indian Cricket team. (Photo Source: SAJJAD HUSSAIN/AFP via Getty Images)
Asia Cup champions India will be the favourites to win the tournament which is being played at home. The Rohit Sharma-led side has covered all the bases from openers to middle order to spinners to pace department. Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, and Ishan Kishan are the opening options for India.
Then the middle order sees Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, and Shreyas Iyer confirming their spots with Suryakumar Yadav and even Ishan Kishan in the wait. Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja are the two pure all-rounders in the Indian squad. R Ashwin adds to this batting lineup as well.
For the spinners, India has a variety in the left-arm orthodox spin of Jadeja, the left-arm wrist spin of Kuldeep Yadav, and the right-arm off-spin of R Ashwin. Yuzvendra Chahal will feel unlucky to miss out on forming the perfect quartet. The pace department sees Mohammad Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, and Mohammed Siraj leading the way with Shardul Thakur as a backup.
This is a very good squad that covers all bases on all types of pitches. It also has almost all of its players in form thanks to outings in the Asia Cup and Australia ODIs.