Team India is gearing up for their highly anticipated 2023 ODI World Cup campaign, which kicks off exactly three months and a week from now. As per the recently released ICC schedule, India will begin their journey on October 8 at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, facing off against five-time world champions Australia. Batting legend Sunil Gavaskar has shared his insightful thoughts on India’s World Cup schedule, particularly their opening game against the formidable Australian side.
The tournament will commence with a repeat of the 2019 final, as defending champions England take on New Zealand at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. India will play their third match in the tournament, while the highly anticipated clash against Pakistan is scheduled for October 15 in Ahmedabad.
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In a conversation with Star Sports, Gavaskar expressed his belief that it is advantageous for India to start their World Cup campaign against a strong opponent like Australia, rather than facing such a challenge in a must-win game later in the league phase. He explained that confronting a formidable team initially would provide India with an opportunity to reassess their strategy against weaker opponents if they do not achieve favorable results at the beginning of the World Cup.
“Absolutely. It would have been even more difficult if you were to play Australia in a must-win last match. I feel it is always an advantage to play against the good teams first,” remarked Sunil Gavaskar. “If you don’t get a good result, you have chances later. If you probably play against some weak team later, you will know what you need to do against them and with what margin you need to win.”
Sunil Gavaskar then recollected India’s victorious 1983 World Cup campaign, where they began their journey by defeating defending champions West Indies in a rain-affected match.
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He highlighted the significance of that early triumph, stating, “In 1983, we played the first match against the West Indies. They were the defending champions, and we defeated them. It was a two-day game due to rain, and play resumed the next day. We registered a win there as well. That victory boosted our self-confidence, as until then, our performance in World Cups wasn’t anything special. We hadn’t won even a single match until then.”
Led by Rohit Sharma, Team India will play matches across nine of the ten World Cup venues in the country. Their final league phase game will be against a qualifier on November 11, marking the conclusion of the initial stage of the tournament.
