If he was playing, would've said India are real favourites for ODI WC: Former Indian opener on star player

On Tuesday (June 27), the International Cricket Council (ICC) released the much-awaited full schedule of the ICC ODI World Cup 2023 edition, to be held in India in October-November. Defending champions England will open their campaign versus New Zealand whereas hosts India will face Australia, in Chennai, on October 08 in their opening encounter. After the schedule was out, former cricketers and experts opined on every team's chances and Kris Srikkanth, part of Kapil Dev-led India's 1983 ODI World Cup win, made a big statement.

Srikkanth believes India will miss Rishabh Pant's services, who is unlikely to regain full fitness after a horrific car accident on December 30, 2022. "We don't know the real truth about Rishabh Pant. Because Rishabh Pant, if he was playing, I would have straightaway said that India are the real favourites for the World Cup. But I think obviously, Rishabh Pant's fitness is questionable. Nobody knows how fit will he be before the World Cup. I doubt it. Many people doubt if he will play the 2023 World Cup. Otherwise, the Rishabh Pant factor would have been very crucial," said Srikkanth while speaking to India Today.

However, Srikkanth was quick to add that Rohit Sharma-led Men in Blue have enough firepower to go the distance in the showpiece event in India. "So I believe guys like KL Rahul (who is recovering from a thigh injury) should be back in the middle order. KL Rahul has been fantastic. We have Rohit Sharma opening with Shubman Gill. Then we have Virat Kohli, who has been fantastic in this format and he has been in form. I believe India has got the capabilities of winning the World Cup," said Srikkanth.

At present, Indian players such as Pant, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer and Jasprit Bumrah are recovering from their respective injuries. While Pant is very much out of contention, as India would certainly not risk playing him soon even if he recovers fully, Rahul, Iyer and Bumrah are expected to regain fitness just before the ODI WC. In such a scenario, India will be in a tough spot as the trio won't be having enough game time heading into the World Cup.

India will open their campaign versus Australia, face Pakistan on October 15 in Ahmedabad, New Zealand on October 22 in Dharamshala, England on October 29 in Lucknow and South Africa on November 05 in Kolkata apart from also facing Afghanistan, Bangladesh and the other two teams from the qualifiers.

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