ICC Men's ODI World Cup 2023 will take place in India, later this year. Less than two months are left for the mega ICC event that will be played across 10 venues in India. Rohit Sharma-led 'Men in Blue' will kickstart their 2023 ODI World Cup campaign on October 8 with a match against five-time World Cup winners Australia. The match will take place at Chennai's MA Chidambaram Stadium. The much-awaited India vs Pakistan ODI World Cup 2023 match, which was originally scheduled to be played in Ahmedabad's Narendra Modi Stadium on October 15, might now take place on October 14 due to security-related concerns.
For the first time ever, India will be hosting the ODI World Cup without any co-hosts. India are definitely one of the favourites to win the mega ICC tournament this year due to favorable home conditions. However, current World's no. 1 Test bowler Ravichandran Ashwin, who was also part of 2011 ODI World Cup winning team, believes Australia are the favorites to win the prestigious title this year.
The 36-year-old said that many experts will pick India as favorites for the title as they want to reduce pressure on themselves, pass it on to India.
"Going into the ODI World Cup, Australia are one of the favourites. I know people around the world cricket will keep saying India are favourites - in fact, all the cricketers around the world will use this as a strategy and say India are favourites before every ICC event. They use this strategy to reduce the pressure on themselves and put extra pressure on us. India could well be one of the favourites, but Australia is also a powerhouse," Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.
"I think World Cricket's landscape changed from the West Indies being the powerhouse after that World Cup. After that 1983 World Cup, we came close in 1987 as well, but after the 1987 World Cup. Australia became the powerhouse of World Cricket, and they continue to be one of the powerhouses of World Cricket," he added.