Cricket“When you play against a weak team…”- Gavaskar on India’s World Cup schedule
The ICC’s Men’s ODI World Cup 2023 is just three months away. The prestigious tournament will begin on October 5 with 2019’s finalists England and New Zealand, while India will begin their campaign on October 8 against Australia. Months ahead of this big contest, India’s batting legend, Sunil Gavaskar, has made a candid prediction on India’s World Cup schedule and their opening match against the five-time World Champions.
Gavaskar feels facing a tough opponent in beginning will be beneficial
The most anticipated match of the World Cup 2023 is India vs Pakistan, which will be played in Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi stadium on October 15. The match is so hyped that Hotel prices in Hyderabad are reaching immense heights, and bookings have already started. Once the tickets for this match become available, they will be sold out rapidly. During an interview with Star Sports, Gavaskar stated that it will be beneficial for India that they are starting their World Cup campaign against a tough opponent like Australia rather than facing such an opponent in a must-win game later. He further pointed out that facing a strong team will give India an opportunity to rethink their strategy against weaker opponents if the results are not in their favour in the first match.
The former cricketer recalled the 1983 World Cup
Gavaskar said, “If they had to play Australia in the must-win last match, it would have been even more difficult. I think it is always beneficial to play against good teams first because if the results are not in your favour, you have chances later. When you play against a weak team later, you know what to do and by what margin you need to win. The former cricketer also recalled the team’s 1983 World Cup triumphant performance when they began their game against the defending champions West Indies in a rain-curtailed game.
“The first match we played was against the West Indies in 1983. The game was played for two days as it rained, and the match resumed the next day. We won the match, and it gave us a lot of confidence because, until then, our performance in the World Cup was nothing special. We didn’t win a single game until that match,” the former added. Team India will be playing across nine of the 10 World Cup venues across the country, and their last league stage match will be played on November 11 against a qualifier.
