ODI World Cup 2023: Sunil Gavaskar backs Jos Buttler's England to defend title on Indian soil

Legendary former India player Sunil Gavaskar has backed Jos Buttler’s England to clinch the 2023 ODI World Cup in India. The 1983 World Cup winner from India backed England to win the marquee tournament in 2019 and has asserted his faith in England for the upcoming edition. England are the defending champions having beaten New Zealand in a close final while they are also the T20 World champions, having won the title in 2022.

Gavaskar backs England

“The defending champions, England, because of the kind of talent that they have at, at the top of the order, the batting order, they've got two or three world-class all-rounders who can change the game with both bat and ball. They've also got a very good bowling line-up, an experienced bowling line-up, so at the moment in my book certainly,” said Gavaskar while speaking to Star Sports.

It is worth noting, that India will take on the defending champions on Saturday in their first warm-up game at Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati. A win for either side in the warm-up match will be a statement considering both have been in fluent form. India beat England in the three-match ODI series in July 2022, but plenty of water has gone under the bridge since as both will look to start the campaign on a high.

Both camps have been plagued with injuries with veteran stars returning to the fold for the World Cup. For India Ravichandran Ashwin will be in the squad having played only three matches during the last 18 months in ODI format. On the flip side, England also managed to bring back Ben Stokes out of retirement as he will be part of the squad.

India will start their World Cup campaign against five-time champions Australia in Chennai on Sunday, October 8 while England will take on New Zealand in the curtain-raiser on Thursday. The latter clash will be a repeat of the 2019 edition’s final as New Zealand will have a score to settle against Buttler’s army.

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