India are favourites but they're not clear favourites to win ODI World Cup 2023: Nasser Hussain

Former England skipper Nasser Hussain believes that India are one of the favourites to win the upcoming ODI World Cup but he can’t put things on paper. The 55-year-old mentioned that there are some other teams who can challenge India on their home surface and can very well topple them to win the tournament. 

Analyzing the squad, Hussain mentioned that India have two of the all-time great white-ball batters of all time in the form of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. Also, Bumrah’s return will give a lot of confidence to the bowling unit. However, he reminded the areas that the team needs to improve. The former cricketer reminded me that India have multiple bowlers who can’t bat and vice versa.

“They're favourites but they're not clear favourites because of the amount of quality sides there are. If you look at their squad, they have two of the greatest white ball batters to ever play the game in Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. They have a potential future great in Shubman Gill and Bumrah coming back is fantastic news. So if you look at their batting and bowling, it's right up there among one of the best squads.

“An area where they lack is if you look at the batters, they don't bowl and the bowlers don't bat. So the side has a different make-upto England and Australia with all the all-rounders,” Nasset said while talking to Sky Sports.

India need to play above par, play fearless cricket: Hussain

Hussain clearly addressed that India have struggled to get going in the knockout matches because of their conservative approach. He mentioned that the Rohit Sharma-led side needs to play fearless cricket in order to win the ODI World Cup, which is slated to begin on October 5.

“You could argue that there's pressure all the time on Indian players. But where they have fallen short is the knockouts since the 2011 World Cup. They need to play above par, play fearless cricket. I think they will get to the knockout stage, but when they get to the semifinal, that's when they need to play fearless cricket,” Hussain mentioned.