One of the iconic batsmen in the history of cricket Viv Richards has backed India ahead of the upcoming ODI World Cup. The former West Indian batsman holds a place in his heart as he made his Test debut on Indian soil. He then described the special affection he has for India and how the huge support from home will help them in the mega tournament.
“I love India, I have a deep bond with India, that particular country in itself. I made my debut in India and I have a lot of sentimental reasons about that part of the world. So I will support India to do well , they have huge support, you can never forget that if you have huge support it can be very encouraging,” Richards told the ICC.
India will look to lift the World Cup trophy again, just as they did in the 2011 World Cup on home soil, when the mega tournament begins on Thursday, October 5, when 2019 finalists England and New Zealand face off clash at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. the event culminated in the final at the same venue on Sunday 19 November. India will start their campaign with a match against Australia in Chennai on October 8.
Ten teams will take part in this biggest-ever Cricket World Cup, to be played across 10 venues from October 5 to November 19, with the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad hosting the tournament opener and the final. During the event, 48 matches will be played, spread over 46 days.
The locations other than Ahmedabad and Chennai are Bengaluru, Delhi, Dharamsala, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai and Pune. While Guwahati and Thiruvananthapuram will host the test matches along with Hyderabad.
Eight teams have qualified for the 46-day event through the Cricket World Cup Super League, while the final two places were decided by the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier taking place in Zimbabwe. Sri Lanka and the Netherlands took the last two places in the tournament.
The top four teams will qualify for the semi-finals, which will be played on November 15 in Mumbai and on November 16 in Kolkata. The final will be in Ahmedabad on November 19. Reserve days apply for the semi-finals and the final.
Indian squad for the World Cup: Rohit Sharma (captain), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya (vice-captain), Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj.
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