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'I Would Love..'- Dinesh Karthik Predicts A Blockbuster World Cup 2023 Final Showdown

image-ln65l51eTeam India at the 2023 Asia Cup (AP)

The 2023 World Cup is set to commence on October 5 with a match between defending champions England and 2019 finalists New Zealand. As all competing teams brace themselves for the forthcoming cricketing carnival, several experts and all-time greats have also put forth their tournament favourites by making some bold predictions.

One such elite cricketing individual is Dinesh Karthik, who believes hosts India will make it to the final and have a cracking showdown against one of their biggest rivals from the sport.

Karthik wants this team to face India in World Cup 2023 final

Dinesh Karthik is part of an expert commentary panel for the 2023 World Cup. In the lead-up to the tournament, the Indian wicketkeeper-batsman gave his two predicted finalists during a chat with the Star Sports Network.

When asked to predict his finalists for the World Cup 2023, he said:

“I would love to see an India vs Pakistan final.”

Karthik's prediction is a testament to his desire to witness a blockbuster final showdown between the two arch-rivals.

Remarkably, both India and Pakistan have faced each other in an ICC final only twice so far in their cricketing history. The two sides first crossed paths in an ICC final back during the 2007 T20 World Cup in South Africa and went toe-to-toe once again in England, albeit ten years later at the 2017 Champions Trophy.

They are yet to meet each other in an ODI World Cup final, considering their biggest match-up at the 50-overs event, as per stakes, remains their 2011 World Cup semi-final clash in Mohali.

Both India and Pakistan recently went up against each other twice at the 2023 Asia Cup in Sri Lanka. While the first of their two planned meetings washed out due to rains, the 'Men in Blue' flogged their Pakistani counterparts in Colombo by 228 runs the following week.

Their 2023 World Cup meeting is set to be staged at Ahmedabad's Narendra Modi Stadium on October 14. Ahead of the impending tournament, here is a look at the 15-player squads of both sides:

India World Cup 2023 squad: Rohit Sharma (C), Hardik Pandya, Ravi Ashwin, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (WK), Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav.

Pakistan World Cup 2023 squad: Babar Azam (c), Shadab Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Abdullah Shafique, Mohammad Rizwan, Saud Shakeel, Iftikhar Ahmed, Salman Agha, Mohammad Nawaz, Usama Mir, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Afridi and Mohammad Wasim Jr.