Nobody wants to play England, India in World Cup 2023 semis: Michael Vaughan
- By Web Desk -
- Oct 06, 2023
Former cricketer Michael Vaughan claimed that teams do not want to play defending champions England and host India in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 semi-finals.
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The former England captain opened up on the sides’ prospects of winning the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023. Michael Vaughan said India has everything a champion side requires except for sufficient left-handed batters.
“England and India are the two teams nobody else wants to face in a semi-final,” he wrote. “India have everything required to win a World Cup but I would be concerned about the lack of left-handers. They only really have Ravindra Jadeja in that first seven. There is no Rishabh Pant, who is a free spirit, which is a big blow. But the seamers are world class and the spinners, too.”
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He believes that Rohit Sharma’s side would continue the trend of host teams winning a World Cup.
“With India it is always can they cope with the pressure? Just look at the last three World Cups. India won on home soil in 2011, Australia did the same in 2015 and England in 2019. It has been a common trend the home team has gone on to win the World Cup so everyone expects India to do so. I don’t think they will disappoint. Any team who beat India in a semi-final will win the World Cup,” he said.
The former batter said that the current England side would be considered as one of the best teams in history if they defended the title. He said that tough mindset is one of the side’s strengths.
It is pertinent to mention that England had a disastrous start to their ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 campaign as they were thrashed by nine wickets from New Zealand at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad.