Sri Lankan cricket legend Kumar Sangakkara made a surprising statement about the possible winners of the upcoming ICC Cricket World Cup 2023, which is set to be held in India in October and November.
Sangakkara said that subcontinental teams like India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka will not be favorites to win the ODI World Cup 2023, all thanks to the Indian Premier League (IPL).
The legendary batter further said that teams like England, Australia, and New Zealand have learned to play spin a lot better than the last time World Cup was hosted in Asia, and that’s why he doesn’t think even the hosts will be favorites for the title later this year.
Kumar Sangakkara said on Star Sports: “I think cricket's changed quite a lot since 2011, in those days I would say that in Asian conditions, it favors the subcontinental players. But over the years I think that England, Australia, and New Zealand have learnt to play spin a lot better than even the subcontinental sides.”
He continued, “You see a lot of reverse sweeps, paddle shots, and sweeps, all of these new strokes using their feet. I think that has revolutionized the way we look at cricket in the subcontinent. IPL has helped a lot in terms of exposure as well.”
According to the former Sri Lankan captain, India's main player pool should not miss a single ODI series if they want to win the World Cup later this year.
Sangakkara signed off by saying, “ODI World Cup year, your players have to be the main focus and play a lot of ODI cricket. The rest should be rotated around the squad.”
India reached the semi-finals of the previous ODI World Cup in 2019 and lost to New Zealand.
