The 2023 ICC Men’s World Cup continues on Sunday with a huge clash between two of the tournament favourites – India and Australia.
Both teams will be itching to get on the winners list early, especially in front of a packed house in Chennai.
Draftstars has put up a huge $10,000 contest, so check out our full preview with fantasy tips below.
2023 ICC Men’s ODI World Cup Fantasy Tips
India vs Australia
India Predicted XI: Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravi Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Jasprit Bumrah
Australia Predicted XI: David Warner, Mitchell Marsh, Steve Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Glenn Maxwell, Cameron Green, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Adam Zampa
India will fancy their chances in this tournament, entering the six-week competition with a deep squad packed with star power. While the leading ODI run scorer of 2023 – Shubman Gill – may miss this game with Dengue Fever, Rohit Sharma is more than capable of leading the way at the top, boasting an average of 50.61 in the ODI format this year. Behind him, Virat Kohli is the barometer at number three, while Iyer, Rahul and Pandya form a dynamic middle order. There are plenty of options with the ball, too. Bumrah and Siraj will start the tournament as the preferred seamers ahead of Mohammed Shami, with Shardul Thakur also an option. On the spin front, Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav are set to play huge roles, while Ravi Ashwin is also available. After listing those names, it’s clear to see that India has all the talent required to take control of this tournament, it’s just a matter of them coming together to produce as a team.
On the other hand, Australia have a few more holes in their playing squad, with injuries and poor form contributing to mediocre recent performances. David Warner has turned back the clock at the top of the order, but Mitch Marsh will need to be at his best to cover for Travis Head. Smith and Labuschagne are household names at three and four, but neither have excelled in this format for a while, while the middle order of Maxwell, Green and Carey has been plagued by inconsistency. Australia will put faith in the experienced bowling attack of Cummins, Starc, Hazlewood and Zampa at the beginning of the tournament, but each has had their fitness issues related to high workloads in recent times, so rotation will come into play. The stars are going to have to align for the Aussies to go all the way in this World Cup, but it would be foolish to rule them out given the quality of the names on paper.
Draftstars Tips
Love It – David Warner $14,200
Warner was at his trademark best during the recent ODI series against India, passing 50 runs in each of the three matches. The powerful opener is a World Cup specialist, and I’m backing him to continue his solid run of form in the 2023 opener, given his experience against similar bowlers in Indian conditions.
Love It- KL Rahul $12,500
Like Warner, Rahul has experienced a renaissance in recent times, thriving as a middle-order batsman. Set to start at number five on the Indian team sheet, Rahul hit two half-centuries in the series against Australia and I expect him to spend plenty of time at the crease in this game given the loss of Gill at the top of the order.
Don’t Love It- Cameron Green $12,000
Green is likely to occupy one of the all-rounder slots in the Australian XI for this game, however his role doesn’t fill me with confidence. Coming in at number six, the rising star will struggle to spend much time in the middle with the bat, and I don’t expect him to bowl a huge number of overs considering the recent success of Maxwell as a second spinner. As such, I’m steering away.
Don’t Love It- Virat Kohli $18,800
Kohli will go down as one of the greatest multi-format players of all time, but the price just simply isn’t right on this slate. Nearly $19k for a batsman who has only managed one ton is his last 10 matches is a stretch too far, especially considering he has only managed two 50s over that period. Given the value of the batters mentioned above, there are better options than Kohli here.
Who Knows- Hardik Pandya $14,900
This man is India’s enigma, he can win a game single-handedly, but will we see that on Sunday? With the home side possibly selecting three spinners, Pandya’s role may be limited like Green, and the word on the street is that he copped a nasty knock in the nets on Friday. With that being said, Pandya’s power hitting could produce big points.
Suggested Draftstars Lineup
