No Pakistan! AB de Villiers has chosen his 2023 ODI World Cup semifinalists

Former South African cricket legend, AB de Villiers has provided his predictions for the forthcoming 2023 ODI World Cup, which is all set to take place in India from 5th October to 19th November.

No Pakistan! AB de Villiers has chosen his 2023 ODI World Cup semifinalists

AB De Villiers (via ABP news)

Former South African cricket legend, AB de Villiers has provided his predictions for the forthcoming 2023 ODI World Cup, which is all set to take place in India from 5th October to 19th November. De Villiers predicts that England, Australia, India, and South Africa will advance towards the semifinals. He was quite optimistic about India’s prospects and referred to this competition as a “fairytale World Cup”.

Despite of the risk associated with selecting the three non-subcontinental teams, AB de Villiers also emphasized that he anticipates excellent wickets throughout the competition, thus minimizing the impact of difficult surfaces. In addition, he stated that Pakistan has a good possibility of winning this tournament.

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De Villiers pictured an ideal final between England and India and also expressed his keen desire to see South Africa in the championship match. He admitted that the South African team is underrated but full of potential talent.

“Definitely, India. It’s going to be a fairytale World Cup. India, England, and Australia — got to go with the big three. Then I want to go with South Africa, even though Pakistan has a really good chance as well,” De Villiers said on Jio Cinema.

The 2023 World Cup will begin at the Narendra Modi Stadium with a rematch of the 2019 final between England and New Zealand. Fans are anxious to see whether India can repeat its same 2011 World Cup victory, while de Villiers joins their optimism.

Also read : Not Virat Kohli! CSK pacer calls Babar Azam the No.1 batter in the world

 Dean Elgar says Cricket South Africa’s SAT20 preference is a problem 

With the entire ODI World Cup 2023 being held in India, Team India will have a fantastic opportunity to break their ICC title curse.
Dean Elgar ( image via Getty )

Dean Elgar, a former Test captain for South Africa, criticized South Africa’s cricket board for giving SAT20 a higher preference than Test cricket. The team has prioritized the T20 cricket format over the traditional format. It is also rumored that the governing body of South African cricket will be sending out their second or third team for the Test series against New Zealand beginning the following year, as the first-team players will be busy completing their contracts with the SAT20 franchise.

Last month, in an interview, Dean Elgar stated that it is difficult to face the reality and it’s the players who suffer, adding that the majority of players desire to play the long format cricket. Elgar also criticized the decision of sending a third team to New Zealand for the two-match Test series and considers that it will negatively impact the cricket relationship between the two nations.

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