The 13th edition of the ICC Men’s One Day International (ODI) Cricket World Cup begins on Thursday, 5th October 2023 in India with defending Champions England taking on New Zealand in Ahmedabad. The 46-day quadrennial tournament sees 10 teams vie for cricket’s biggest prize that ends with the final on November 19th. England are the defending champions, having won the 2019 edition by defeating New Zealand in the final.
India solely hosts the tournament for the first time (they co-hosted with other Asian countries in 1987, 1996, and 2011) and the fourth time overall. They emerged champions the last time they hosted the tournament in 2011.
The World Cup also features Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, Netherlands, Pakistan, South Africa and Sri Lanka progressing via the 2023 Cricket World Cup qualification process. The big omission is former Champions West Indies who miss out for the first time in their cricketing history.
India gained automatic qualification as hosts which left the rest to battle in a qualification process spread over three years in multiple stages and smaller tournaments. Seven teams, including defending champions England, qualified on the basis of their standings in the ICC Super League which ran from July 2020 to May 2023 while Netherlands and Sri Lanka took the final two spots after coming out on top in the knockout qualification stage earlier this year.
The opening ceremony is scheduled to be held on 4th October 2023 at the Narendra Modi Stadium, a day before the opening match between England and New Zealand
FORMAT
The round-robin first phase will see teams playing each other once across 45 matches that ends November 12th with a match between India and Netherlands in Bengaluru. The top-4 teams at the end of this stage qualify for the semifinals. Teams finishing first and fourth play the first semifinal on November 15th in Mumbai, while the second and third teams will meet in the second semifinal on November 16th in Kolkata. Both semis will have a reserve day.
However, if Pakistan qualify for the semifinals, they will play the match in Kolkata irrespective of their ranking in the table; and if India qualify, they will play in Mumbai. If both teams clash in the semifinal, the match will be played in Kolkata.
All 48 matches of the World Cup will be held across 10 venues in Chennai, Delhi, Ahmedabad, Pune, Dharamsala, Lucknow, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bengaluru and Ahmedabad. Both, the opener and Final will be played at Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad. ICC instructed all the world cup stadiums to keep boundary sizes more than 70 meters. It is said that toss and “Dew factor” can play a role in the results of the matches, ICC wants to minimise it. They also instructed pitch curators to leave grass on the pitches.
ICC ODI TEAM RANKINGS
PRIZE MONEY
The prize money (USD) this year is exactly the same as at the 2019 event.
Total: $10m
Winners: $4m
Runners-up: $2m
Semifinalists: $800,000
Teams finishing at the group stage: $100,000
Each group stage win: $40,000
SCHEDULE
Image Credit: International Cricket Council
SQUADS
The oldest player at the World Cup is Dutchman Wesley Barresi, who is 39 years old, while the youngest is Afghan spinner Noor Ahmad, who is 18.
Afghanistan: Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Riaz Hassan, Rahmat Shah, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Ikram Alikhil, Azmatullah Omarzai, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Noor Ahmad, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Abdul Rahman, Naveen ul Haq
Australia: Pat Cummins (c), Steve Smith, Alex Carey, Josh Inglis, Sean Abbott, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Marnus Labuschagne, Mitch Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, David Warner, Adam Zampa, Mitchell Starc
Bangladesh: Shakib Al Hasan (c), Litton Kumer Das, Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Najmul Hossain Shanto (vc), Tawhid Hridoy, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah Riyad, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Nasum Ahmed, Shak Mahedi Hasan, Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Hasan Mahmud, Shoriful Islam, Tanzim Hasan Sakib
England: Jos Buttler (c), Moeen Ali, Gus Atkinson, Jonny Bairstow, Sam Curran, Liam Livingstone, Dawid Malan, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes, Reece Topley, David Willey, Mark Wood, Chris Woakes
India: Rohit Sharma (c), Hardik Pandya (vc), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav
Netherlands: Scott Edwards (c), Max O’Dowd, Bas de Leede, Vikram Singh, Teja Nidamanuru, Paul van Meekeren, Colin Ackermann, Roelof van der Merwe, Logan van Beek, Aryan Dutt, Ryan Klein, Wesley Barresi, Saqib Zulfiqar, Shariz Ahmad, Sybrand Engelbrecht
New Zealand: Kane Williamson (c), Trent Boult, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, Tom Latham, Daryl Mitchell, Jimmy Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Mitch Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Will Young
Pakistan: Babar Azam (c), Shadab Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Abdullah Shafique, Mohammad Rizwan, Saud Shakeel, Iftikhar Ahmed, Salman Ali Agha, Mohammad Nawaz, Usama Mir, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Afridi, Mohammad Wasim
South Africa: Temba Bavuma (c), Gerald Coetzee, Quinton de Kock, Reeza Hendricks, Marco Jansen, Heinrich Klaasen, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Lungi Ngidi, Andile Phehlukwayo, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi, Rassie van der Dussen, Lizaad Williams
Sri Lanka: Dasun Shanaka (c), Kusal Mendis (vc), Kusal Perera, Pathum Nissanka, Lahiru Kumara, Dimuth Karunaratne, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Charith Asalanka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Maheesh Theekshana, Dunith Wellalage, Kasun Rajitha, Matheesha Pathirana, Dilshan Madushanka, Dushan Hemantha
Travelling reserve: Chamika Karunaratne
