3 India-born players who might play against India in 2023 World Cup
India will host the 2023 World Cup later this year in October and November. 10 teams, namely India, Pakistan, Australia, England, South Africa, Afghanistan, New Zealand, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and the Netherlands will play in the mega event.
England are the defending champions, and they will open their campaign against last edition's runners-up New Zealand. Home team India will start their tournament against former world champions Australia at the MA Chidambaram Stadium.
The 2023 World Cup will have the same format as the 2019 edition, where all 10 teams will play against each other once in the group stage. At the end of the group stage, the top four teams in the points table will advance to the semifinals.
India will play against nine opponents in the group stage. Interestingly, three players from those nine squads could be India-born only. While the squads for the 2023 World Cup have not been announced, here are three India-born players who are likely to play against the Men in Blue at the grand stage.
#1 Vikramjit Singh, Netherlands
Netherlands will appear at the Cricket World Cup for the first time since 2011. The last time the Dutch team qualified for the mega event, their current batter Vikramjit Singh was just eight years old.
Singh is currently one of the main batters in the Dutch lineup. He has represented the Netherlands in 24 ODIs, scoring 795 runs. The left-handed opening batter has recorded one century and four half-centuries in his ODI career so far.
The Dutch opener came into the limelight at last year's T20 World Cup before the group stage match between Netherlands and India. Singh was born in Cheema Kurd, Punjab, and many fans were impressed to see the Punjab-born batter's rise in the Netherlands team.
#2 Teja Nidamanuru, Netherlands
Another player from the Netherlands team who was born in India is Teja Nidamanuru. He was born in Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh. The 28-year-old all-rounder provides a lot of stability to his team with his batting and off-spin bowling skills.
Teja grabbed the headlines at the ongoing Cricket World Cup Qualifiers by smashing a match-winning hundred against the West Indies. His 111-run knock against the Men in Maroon played a vital role in the Dutch team's qualification.
The Vijayawada-born player will now get an opportunity to play against India at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. He will be keen to perform well at the big stage.
#3 Ish Sodhi, New Zealand
Ish Sodhi has troubled India a lot at ICC events. His excellent leg-spin bowling skills led to New Zealand's victories over India at the T20 World Cups in 2016 and 2021. Sodhi will now aim to help the Blackcaps defeat the Indian team when they meet in the 2023 World Cup at the HPCA Stadium in Dharamsala.
Sodhi was born in Ludhiana, which is less than 200 kilometers away from Dharamsala. It should not be a surprise if there is some support for Sodhi in the stands when the Indian team takes on New Zealand in the 2023 World Cup at the HPCA Stadium on October 22.