Former Australian left-arm spinner Brad Hogg added that the Aussies are the only team that can knock India out of the 2023 ODI World Cup. According to Hogg, while the Indian team will have the advantage of playing at home, Australia have plenty of depth in their squad as well. The 2023 ODI World Cup will take place in India from October 5 to November 19 as well. While India won the World Cup at home back in 2011, Australia won the title in 2015 at home. The last edition in England was also won by the host team as well. Notably, India and Australia will begin their World Cup campaign by playing against each other at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on October 8.
In an interview on Revsportz’s show Backstage with Boria, Hogg said, “They [Australia] have a great fast bowling attack with Mitchell Starc who can do a bit of damage with the new ball. We have also got a spinner in Adam Zampa, and he does control the middle overs. We have quite a few all-rounders. I think Australia are the only team that can knock India out of the World Cup. They have had success in the World Test Championship and the Ashes. They seem as though they are very switched on.”
Ahead of the World Cup, Australia will play three ODIs in India from September 22 to September 27 as well. Shifting focus to India, Hogg stated that the hosts have an explosive batting line-up on paper as well.
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“Can you put Shreyas Iyer in there? Is KL Rahul going to be fit? Without Rishabh Pant, you need Rahul to keep. I will be quite interested in who is going to be in that middle order. I think it will be Ravindra Jadeja as he is a slightly better batter than Axar Patel. The only question marks there is whether they go with Shardul Thakur,” Hogg further added.
He also added that Kuldeep Yadav will play a big role in the upcoming ODI World Cup in India. He credited Kuldeep for working hard on his bowling and making a stunning comeback following injury and form issues. Kuldeep has been in good rhythm with the ball for India recently.
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“He had a great IPL this year. He has come back well. What defines a player is when someone has been dropped. He has been out of the game, worked on his action. He is not falling away as much. He is now getting more revolutions on the ball, and drift as well. I think Rohit Sharma captains him well. He is a fighter. I absolutely love the way he gone about it. Just love the way he has come back into that team and performed straight away. I think he will play a big part in the World Cup. I’d play Kuldeep against Australia,” Brad Hogg added.
“When you are under pressure, you need other teammates to back you. You need Virat Kohli to step up, maybe Rahul behind the stumps as he has got a lot of captaincy experience. Just to help him to take that pressure off. In the bowling department, bowlers need to stand up, make the decisions by themselves,” he concluded.
