CWC 2023: Fitness of Bumrah and Shami will be key for India at World Cup, says Tom Moody

Moody believes India's squad is good enough to win the World Cup.

By Salman Anjum - 06 Sep, 2023

A day after India qualified for the Asia Cup Super 4s, the BCCI men's selection committee announced a 15-member squad for the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023, slated to get underway on October 5 in Ahmedabad.

Barring Tilak Varma, Prasidh Krishna and standby player Sanju Samson, all the other members, who are currently featuring in the Asia Cup, found a place in the World Cup squad.

There were concerns raised over KL Rahul’s match fitness but the Ajit Agarkar-led selection panel included him in the World Cup squad as well.

Reflecting on India’s line-up for the showpiece tournament, former Australia all-rounder Tom Moody opined that the fitness of senior fast bowlers Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammad Shami will be key for the hosts.

“I think a lot of it depends on the fitness and longevity of Bumrah. I think he holds such an important key for India because he has such high quality and impacts the game early and also closes the innings,” Moody told Star Sports.

"And I see that it's basically going to be a difficult World Cup with regards to making sure that you keep your bowlers fit. It’s a long campaign, but India certainly have got the diversity in their side. It’s just the case of them making sure they have their key players fit, particularly their bowlers,” he added.

Besides, the Men in Blue will also have speedster Mohammed Siraj in their ranks alongside seam-bowling all-rounders – Hardik Pandya and Shardul Thakur.

Tom Moody also pointed out the significance of home advantage for Team India at the World Cup.

“Yes, I think they have a side that’s good enough to win the World Cup. I think home advantage will be a big one for India, but I bring that point around the fitness. The fitness of Bumrah and Shami is absolutely key to me as both of them are high-quality new ball bowlers," he remarked.

India will open their ODI World Cup campaign against five-time champions Australia at Chepauk on October 8.

By Salman Anjum - 06 Sep, 2023

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