A World Cup with many ifs and buts, with a question on the relevance of the format hanging over its head and the one that has already signed some retirement notices kicks off at the world's largest stadium in Ahmedabad on Thursday, October 5. A reporter asked the captains during the meet on the eve of the tournament opener if the ODI World Cup is still the pioneer of the game despite the advent of T20 cricket and the emergence of leagues across the world and Kane Williamson, the New Zealand skipper answered probably on everyone's behalf in positive.
The hype and buzz also say that. The bilaterals may be fading away but the last year or so has been building towards these 46 days for teams across the world. England's leadership has changed hands but the T20 World Cup trophy is proof that the white-ball revolution that Eoin Morgan started is here to stay. However, not just England, India, Australia, New Zealand, Pakistan and South Africa - six teams look like top contenders for the World Cup. If signs are considered, this could be the biggest and probably the most closely fought World Cup given Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Afghanistan have proven in recent times that they can topple the big teams and what better stage than a World Cup?
Here's everything you need to know about the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023:
Full Schedule
World Cup 2023 Full schedule
Squads
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.
Reserve: Fareed Malik, Gulbadin Naib, Sharafudin Ashraf
Australia: Pat Cummins (c), Steve Smith, Alex Carey, Josh Inglis, Sean Abbott, Marnus Labuschagne, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Mitch Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, David Warner, Adam Zampa, Mitchell Starc.
Reserves: Matt Short, Tanveer Sangha
Bangladesh: Shakib Al Hasan (c), Litton 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.
Reserve: Jofra Archer
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, R 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.
Reserve: Kyle Jamieson
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.
Reserves: Abrar Ahmed, Mohammad Haris, Zaman Khan
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, Dimuth Karunaratne, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Charith Asalanka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Dushan Hemantha, Maheesh Theekshana, Dunith Wellalage, Kasun Rajitha, Matheesha Pathirana, Lahiru Kumara, Dilshan Madushanka
Reserve: Chamika Karunaratne
Match timings, live streaming and telecast details
The World Cup begins on October 5 with a day-night match with a start time of 2 PM IST. All the day-night matches begin at 2 PM IST while on double-header days, the morning game starts at 10:30 AM IST.
The entire ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 will be telecasted across Star Sports channels on TV and India matches along with semis and the final will also be broadcast on the free-to-air DD Sports channel as well. The live streaming of the tournament will be available on the Disney+ Hotstar app and website.
