As the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 approaches in India, anticipation is building, and experts are beginning to make their predictions. One cricket legend, former Australian wicket-keeper-batter Adam Gilchrist, has already named his top four teams for the upcoming tournament.
India is all set to host the mega cricket event, spanning across 10 different venues for both the league and knockout rounds. This marks a historic occasion as it’s the first time India is hosting this prestigious tournament, which usually involves multiple co-hosts. Interestingly, the legendary Australian cricketer Adam Gilchrist has sprung a surprise by revealing his top 4 picks for the event.
Adam Gilchrist, a three-time World Cup champion, has selected Australia, England, Pakistan, and the home team, India, as his top four choices to advance to the semi-finals in the tournament. Gilchrist told PTI, “I think India and Pakistan could feature, Australia and England are the other two teams.”
In the 2019 World Cup semi-finals, we witnessed an intense showdown between India, England, and Australia. Eventually, it was England who clinched their maiden victory in cricket’s most prestigious tournament. Australia had previously claimed the title when they hosted the event in 2015, while India had made history in 2011 by becoming the first nation to secure the World Cup on their home turf.
Australia faced a setback when they recently concluded a five-match ODI series against South Africa, losing by a narrow margin of 2-3. Looking ahead, they are now gearing up to travel to India for a three-match ODI series. According to Adam Gilchrist, this recent loss should serve as a valuable learning experience for the Australian team as they prepare for the upcoming World Cup in 2023.
“Australia will learn a lot from their efforts in South Africa when they come to India. They have got three games before the World Cup against India. So, they will have a bit more of a full-strength squad there. That might tell us a bit about where they are at,” Gilchrist further added.
Adam Gilchrist shared his perspective on Australia’s potential experiment of placing David Warner at number 4 in the batting order. Gilchrist expressed reservations about this idea, suggesting that Warner should stick to the top order. He pointed out Warner’s success against South Africa, where his aggressive style of batting allowed him to dominate the African bowling lineup.
“He (Warner) looked really good in South Africa for the most part of what he did. I think he has got to bat at the top, there has been some sort of discussions that he bats down the middle order, but I think he has got to open. He showed in South Africa a couple of times that he is aggressive and dominant at the top of the order as he has ever been,” Gilchrist concluded.
