ICC World Cup 2023: Virender Sehwag picks ?his four semi-finalists for the World Cup; leaves out New Zealand?

The much anticipated ICC World Cup 2023 is around three months away from now. The biggest carnival in International cricket has kept everyone on their toes. The International Cricket Council (ICC) along with the Board of Control For Cricket In India (BCCI) announced the official schedule of the tournament. 

The tournament will take place in India for the first time since 2011. The ICC World Cup 2023 will be played from 5th October. A total of 48 matches will take place and 10 teams will fight for the title. 

Out of 10 teams, 8 have made a direct entry into the tournament due to their performances in the ICC ODI Super League while the remaining two teams will be decided after the Qualifiers, which will take place in June in Zimbabwe. 

The 8 teams that have qualified are India, Australia, Afghanistan, New Zealand, Pakistan, England, Bangladesh and South Africa. Whereas two among USA and UAE, West Indies, Netherlands, Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka, Scotland, Oman, Nepal and Ireland will be head to India for the main tournament. 

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The ICC World Cup 2023 will begin with the blockbuster clash between England and New Zealand at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad whereas the final will also take place at the same venue. Apart from this, Chennai, Lucknow, Mumbai, Pune, Bengaluru, Delhi, Kolkata, Dharamshala and Hyderabad will be the host venues. 

Virender Sehwag, who was present during the unveiling event of the World Cup schedule picked his four semi-finalists of the tournament. He backed India, Pakistan, England and Australia to play in the playoffs. What caught many by surprise as he left out runner-ups of the 2019 World Cup in New Zealand. 

ICC World Cup 2023: India's schedule for the ICC World Cup 2023 

Here?s India's schedule for the ICC World Cup 2023 

Indian team schedule for World Cup 2023:

IND vs AUS, Oct 8, Chennai
IND vs AFG, Oct 11, Delhi
IND vs PAK, Oct 15, Ahmedabad
IND vs BAN, Oct 19, Pune
IND vs NZ, Oct 22, Dharamsala
IND vs ENG, Oct 29, Lucknow
IND vs Qualifier, Nov 2, Mumbai
IND vs SA, Nov 5, Kolkata
IND vs Qualifier, Nov 11, Bengaluru