"I just feel South Africa is due" - Yuvraj Singh picks his semifinalists for 2023 World Cup
Former Indian all-rounder Yuvraj Singh has picked five teams to be front-runners in the race to make it to the semifinals of the World Cup to be played in India from October 5.
Apart from the likes of India, Australia, and England, Yuvraj believes New Zealand and South Africa, too, have a great chance of making the final four. He stressed on how the Proteas have come close on several occasions but haven't quite won the World Cup.
Speaking to The Week, here's what Yuvraj Singh had to say about his semifinal predictions for the World Cup 2023 (19:24):
"Obviously India, Australia will be there (semifinals). I will pick five teams as there's always an upset in the World Cup. India, Australia, New Zealand, England and I just feel South Africa is due. They need a white-ball trophy."
Yuvraj also opened up on the best all-rounders in the world at the moment, adding (20:30):
"There are a lot of all-rounders around. Mitchell Marsh, Ravindra Jadeja. Ben Stokes is the No. 1 all-rounder at the moment. England have brought him back for the World Cup."
May not see Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli in another ODI World Cup: Yuvraj Singh
Yuvraj Singh had been pretty vocal about how he and other players were determined to win the 2011 World Cup for Sachin Tendulkar, who was playing his last ICC event for India. He feels the current players could also have that same motivation as veterans like Virat Kohli and captain Rohit Sharma may not be around for long.
On this, Yuvraj stated (15:46):
"The guys need to push it to win the World Cup for Rohit and Virat as you may not see them in another World Cup. My relationship with Sachin was very special. I was like, 'I am going to put my body on the line for this guy and for Team India.' They haven't won an ICC Trophy for 10 years so there will be pressure, but it's just about how they're going to handle it."
India begin their World Cup 2023 campaign against Australia in Chennai on October 8.