Sourav Ganguly revealed five candidates for the ICC World Cup 2023 semi-ultimate spots on the event of his 51st birthday on Saturday, July 8. The former captain additionally hoped for the Pakistan staff to achieve the semi-ultimate spherical and play India at Kolkata’s Eden Gardens.
Pakistan are set to play in India for the primary time since 2016 and can conflict towards their neighbours in an anticipated fixture at Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium on July 15. They are additionally scheduled to play their remaining group-stage fixtures at Hyderabad, Chennai, Bengaluru, and Kolkata.Â
In ICC ODI staff standings, Pakistan are at the moment ranked second, one level above India, and have three gamers within the high five batters’ rankings, together with captain Babar Azam on the high. When requested about his semi-ultimate candidates prediction, Ganguly named hosts India, present champion England, high-ranked ODI staff Australia, and final version’s runner-up New Zealand. He then additionally highlighted the a lot-improved Pakistan staff and stated that he desires them to achieve the semi-finals.
“It’s very hard to say [teams that could make the semi-final],” Ganguly stated in an interview on RevSportz. “Australia, England, India. You can never underestimate New Zealand in these big matches. I will pick five, and include Pakistan also. Pakistan better qualify so that we will have the India-Pakistan semi-final at the Eden Gardens.”
The former BCCI president additionally performed down’s India’s worrisome document in ICC knockout phases. He stated that the present staff has high quality choices to go all the way in which this time.
“We don’t perform well sometimes, in crucial phases. I don’t feel it is mental pressure, but all about execution. They are mentally strong people. Hopefully, they will cross the line soon. At least we qualified for the finals of the WTC, which is also an achievement. And yes, we have a chance. We have got good players, plenty of them. Hopefully, we will do it this time,” Ganguly added.
