Suresh Raina Backs Two Indian Trump Cards For World Cup; They Are Not Rohit, Virat
Suresh Raina also praised Virat Kohli and Shubman Gill (AP)
Team India will start out as one of the favourites to lift the upcoming 2023 World Cup in front of their home crowd. Under Rohit Sharma, the ‘Men in Blue’ recently lifted the Asia Cup 2023 title in Sri Lanka by demolishing tournament hosts in a lop-sided final.
As cricketing fraternity braces itself for an exciting World Cup, former player Suresh Raina has shared his insights into India’s chances at the competition.
Suresh Raina identifies India’s trump cards
A World Cup winner himself, Suresh Raina was recently asked to predict Team India’s potential game-changers for the upcoming quadrennial event. Speaking at the Times of India’s ‘Right to Excellence Sports Summit’, Raina picked none other than the team’s new-ball pacer Jasprit Bumrah and high-flying spinner Kuldeep Yadav.
Bumrah returned to the Indian team last month after recovering from his back injury. The ace speedster launched his comeback with a ‘Player of the Series’ performance in Ireland and followed it up with match-winning new-ball spells against Pakistan and Sri Lanka at the 2023 Asia Cup.
Kuldeep Yadav, on the other hand, snared nine wickets against Pakistan and Sri Lanka in a space of two days at the tournament and became one of the fastest bowlers in the world to complete 150 ODI wickets in doing so.
Apart from picking the two in-form bowlers, Suresh Raina further acknowledged the match-winning batting potential of India’s top three Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli. He added that the ‘Men in Blue’ also has a stabled middle-order with the likes of Hardik Pandya, Ishan Kishan, Ravindra Jadeja within the line-up.
Team India will commence their World Cup 2023 campaign with a match against Australia on October 8. The two sides will also collide in a customary three-match series starting this week in a bid to prepare for the tournament.
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