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As the World Cup 2023 has already started in full swing with New Zealand inflicting a merciless defeat upon England while Pakistan getting the better of Netherlands in a lopsided encounter, the quadrennial extravaganza has already been set ablaze and the teams are willing to go raring and roaring into the tournament.
When we talk about roaring in the tournament, obviously there are a few stars whom we believe can make all the difference in the world. They are called the X-Factors of the side. Here is our humble attempt to decode the X-factors of five teams while we will decode the x-factors of the other five in the second part of this article.
India:
Virat Kohli
It is needless to say that the former Indian captain would be desperate to finish things on a high as this may very well be his last World Cup appearance. One of those rare cricketers to lift the trophy in his very first rodeo and carrying Sachin Tendulkar on his shoulders, he etched a snap into immortality for the Indian cricket fans. Given his current run of some unstoppable form, Kohli smashed a half-century on his return against Australia while blasting a couple of centuries in the last four innings that he played. Knowing Kohli’s proclivity for coming to life when the bigger tournaments come knocking, he is going to be one of the leading contenders for the tournament’s highest run-scorer award.
Mohammed Siraj
Mohammed Siraj has been in intimidating form for the last year and a half. Miyan possesses the ability to engender banana swing with the new ball that proved to be the unravelling for Sri Lanka in the grand final of the Asia Cup. He has been one of the key architects of India’s recent dominion in the powerplay with the ball. Capable of bowling at pace known to trouble the best of batters, expect Siraj to cause quite a stir when he has the ball in hand.
Kuldeep Yadav
If we turn the clock back by six months as well, ideally the time frame where a bare minimum clarity of who should be a part of the World Cup squad is usually decided, Kuldeep was nowhere in the frame. However, in an otherwise lacklustre year for Delhi Capitals, Kuldeep proved to be one of their rare mainstays with a handful of imperious showdowns. Come West Indies knocking on the doors and the chinaman was already making ripples which would soon turn into waves in the upcoming Asia Cup. Ever since that fifer against Pakistan and another four-fer against Sri Lanka, his place in the Indian squad was more than justified. With the Indian surfaces coming into play, Kuldeep will play a crucial role, particularly given his variations which have proven to be quite tough to handle for some of the world’s best batters. Kuldeep can prove to be the game-changer that India is looking forward to.
Pakistan:
Shaheen Afridi:
In the absence of Naseem Shah, it is needless to say that the Falcon will be leading the Pakistani fast bowling battery. He is someone who loves to move the ball both ways and that threatening inswinger can prove to be a game-changer for Pakistan, particularly with the new ball in his hand and the kind of pace that he generates.
Babar Azam:
Babar Azam is obviously the brightest lodestar for the Pakistani batting unit. With knocks of 80 and 90 in his last two games against New Zealand and Australia respectively, Pakistan will love to believe that the wheels have been set in motion and if Babar is at the wheel, he will comfortably steer them to a position of promise.
Iftikhar Ahmed
Another batting stalwart of Pakistan, someone who exactly doesn’t bring the zing and bling but is very well capable of keep things afloat and then when the time comes, he can go all guns blazing, propelling Pakistan to whatever their respective targets would be. The last three ODIs that he has been a part of has seen him scoring 47 against Sri Lanka, staying unbeaten for 7 against New Zealand and then capping off the warm-ups with a resonating 83 against Australia. He is someone who can be a game-changer if he is able to get rid of the initial blockade which usually becomes the litmus test for any prolific striker of the ball.
Netherlands:
Teja Nidamanuru, right-hand batter
Teja is one of those Netherlands cricketers who holds a day job as he is a product manager for a technology company while he also proudly sports the national jersey in the gruelling game of cricket. He became the first centurion for the Dutchmen since 2014 with a knock that came in March this year and then doubled it up with another blistering ton three months later against West Indies.
Bas de Leede, all-rounder
Bas de Leede has been touted as one of the most sensational youngsters in the side and he is carrying his father’s legacy forward in even better fashion. He impressed the world with his stints in ILT20 and the Hundred. In 2023, he is the leading wicket-taker for his country with 15 scalps at an average of 22.13 while smashing a century against Scotland in the qualifiers.
Logan van Beek, all-rounder
Logan van Beek is an example of a cricketer gifted with some sensational all-round abilities. His stints in the fabric of county cricket for Worcestershire has propelled him to the forefront of the Netherlands bowling unit. Figures of eight wickets against Glamorgan from two innings combined scores of 53 and 41* in his last ten innings across all formats makes him a forerunner of the surprise that he brings to the fore. Also, come pressure, he shines even brighter. Ask Jason Holder, who was still shies away from the hallowed name of van Beek.
England:
Harry Brook
Harry Brook was included into the side way too late as he came on as a replacement for Jason Roy. However, knowing the explosive talent that Brook is, he can turn out to be one of England’s most important players. With all said and done, the right-hander has already proven his mettle in the Indian conditions during the IPL. His ability to explode even before the bowlers are aware of where the attack is going to come from can take the game away from the counterparts.
Ben Stokes
Ben Stokes has had his struggles with injury, but such is his impact with the bat that he was asked to come out of ODI retirement. Fresh off a magical 182 vs New Zealand at The Oval in mid-September, Stokes, if fully fit, will undoubtedly hold the aces for the Three Lions in that middle order. He has a particular predilection of coming alive in the particular big matches, may it be the 2019 World Cup final or the 2022 T20 World Cup final and it remains to be seen how he performs this time around.
Reece Topley
Reece Topely’s towering stature, his brilliant form in the Hundred and the Vitality Blast T20, his impressive start in the IPL speaks volumes about how dangerous he can be. Steaming in with his impressive brand of left arm seam and a pretty high release point, Topley can spark a shade of doubt in the batter’s mind when he frequents that corridor of uncertainty. To add to all of this, he operates in the 140 kph zone quite often, proving his worth for sure.
Australia:
Glenn Maxwell
With Australia’s spin options being handful for the upcoming tournament and Adam Zampa being the solitary regular spinner in the squad, Australia will rely heavily on Glenn Maxwell to run through with at least five to six overs in an innings. The RCB all-rounder was impressive against India in the series finale as he bagged the Player of the Match award for his four-fer but he didn’t get a chance to roll his arms against Netherlands as rain played spoilsport. However, considering the Indian conditions and the kind of all-round flair that Maxwell brings to the table, particularly with his explosive batting in the middle-order, he certainly becomes someone to watch out for. Cue his blistering 77 against Pakistan in the latest warm-up game and the world will know better than to write him off.
Mitchell Starc
When it comes to feared left-arm seamers, Mitchell Starc certainly is being labelled as one of the most threatening contenders in world cricket right now. Irrespective of the format, the ace Australian quick is a ravaging option when it comes to making the ball snake early up in the powerplay. An absolute menace with the new ball, Starc also claimed a hat-trick against Netherlands and despite it being a warm-up match and the opposition being a part of the associate nations, yet those deliveries that he bowled would leave any batter with sleepless nights for eons to come. That same inswinger which he bowled James Vince with in the 2017 Ashes was what proved to be the unravelling for Max O’Dowd, Wesley Barresi and Bas de Leede and Starc will have a massive role to play come the World Cup.
Marnus Labuschagne
Marnus Labuschagne was a late addition to the Australian side after Ashton Agar failed to make the cut for the national team owing to an injury. Surprisingly, Marnus has been a fine study of stepping up whenever the opportunity presents itself to him, ever since that day against Jofra Archer after Steve Smith was knocked over by a menacing bumper. Right from the time he was being thrown in the mix with the news of Agar still to be confirmed, he has been sparking ripples. With 283 runs against South Africa that was inclusive of an unbeaten 80 and a blistering 124, he topped that up with a sensational 72 against India before smashing a quickfire 40 against Pakistan. The last couple of matches also saw him clinching four wickets, an option that makes him a valuable addition to the lean spinning side of the Roos.
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