Sport

Sourav Ganguly Reveals Bold Predictions For ODI World Cup 2023 Semifinalists, Picks Babar Azam’s Pakistan For THIS Reason

July 9, 2023
Bharat Times

Former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly confidently predicted the four semi-finalists for the 2023 World Cup, which is set to be held in India. The tournament, in its 13th edition, is scheduled to commence on October 5 and culminate with the final on November 19. Despite India being the favourites as the host nation, the competition among the teams is intense, making it difficult to determine a clear winner or even the four semi-finalists. Following the same format as the 2019 edition, the tournament will feature ten teams playing in a round-robin fashion, with the top four teams advancing to the semi-finals.

Ganguly included the previous three champions, England, Australia, and India, in his list of semi-finalists. However, he left the fourth spot open for contention between two teams, excluding South Africa and Sri Lanka from his picks.

“It’s very hard to say. 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 (laughs),” Ganguly expressed to Revsportz.

Ganguly’s excitement was evident as he highlighted that one of the semi-finals would be held at his hometown’s iconic Eden Gardens in Kolkata. This renowned venue previously hosted the final of the 1987 World Cup, the 2016 T20 World Cup, and a semi-final in the 1996 World Cup.

“I hope so. We are extremely happy to have five matches at the Eden Gardens. I must thank the BCCI and Jay Shah for giving us the semi-final. I had spoken to him, and I am sure the Cricket Association of Bengal must have spoken to him a number of times about the matches. Eden Gardens is a great venue — 60-70,000 capacity, and that also plays a huge role. We will upgrade it to around 100,000 in the next two years. Extremely happy because the World Cup is a big event, and Eden has hosted big matches in the past also,” Ganguly added.

If India qualifies for the semi-finals, their match will be held at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium. However, if they face Pakistan in the knockout clash, the game will take place in Kolkata. Pakistan’s semi-final, regardless of the opponent, is scheduled to take place at the Eden Gardens.