The excitement for the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 is increasing with every passing day. The quadrennial event will be held in India from October 5 to November 19.

With less than a month remaining for the World Cup, the experts have started sharing their preferred XI and key players for the participating teams.

Former India coaches Ravi Shastri and Sanjay Bangar have also joined the bandwagon, backing seam-bowling all-rounder Shardul Thakur for a spot in the Indian playing XI during the 50-over showpiece tournament.

Shardul was given the new ball in India's Asia Cup Super 4 fixture against Bangladesh and he returned with three wickets.

"He is an extremely underrated bowler. The achievements he has in the last two or three years, whether it is Test cricket or ODI cricket, he is a wicket-taker and goes slightly under the radar because the Indian bowling is so fantastic," Bangar said on Star Sports.

"Mohammad Shami, Jasprit Bumrah and a bowler like Prasidh Krishna are spoken about but he is a player who has been with the Indian team for a long time. He has a lot of importance as an all-rounder and the reason for Rohit giving him the new ball is that he will probably play most of the matches in the World Cup," the former batting coach explained.

On the other hand, ex-India head coach Ravi Shastri mentioned that Shardul has a lot of confidence in his abilities.

"The self-confidence he has in his abilities is unquestionable. If you go and tell him that he did well, he would half the time say that he knew it beforehand. He will suddenly bowl a slower one and the batter will edge it," Shastri said in the same discussion on Star Sports.

"He has confidence in his bowling and his thinking, which is very good, and in batting as well. He brings positive energy to the team," he further remarked.