Sourav Ganguly Reveals Bold Predictions For ODI World Cup 2023 Semifinalists, Picks Babar Azam's Pakistan For THIS Reason

Former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly confidently predicted the four semi-finalists for the 2023 World Cup, which is set to be held in India. The tournament, in its 13th edition, is scheduled to commence on October 5 and culminate with the final on November 19. Despite India being the favourites as the host nation, the competition among the teams is intense, making it difficult to determine a clear winner or even the four semi-finalists. Following the same format as the 2019 edition, the tournament will feature ten teams playing in a round-robin fashion, with the top four teams advancing to the semi-finals.

Ganguly included the previous three champions, England, Australia, and India, in his list of semi-finalists. However, he left the fourth spot open for contention between two teams, excluding South Africa and Sri Lanka from his picks.

Sourav Ganguly is hopeful of an epic semi-final clash between India and Pakistan at the Eden Gardens in #CWC23 _

More _ https://t.co/PAdg9tVVQH pic.twitter.com/HpZVx3eRNV — ICC (@ICC) July 8, 2023

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"It's very hard to say. Australia, England, India. You can never underestimate New Zealand in these big matches. I will pick five, and include Pakistan also. Pakistan better qualify so that we will have the India-Pakistan semi-final at the Eden Gardens (laughs)," Ganguly expressed to Revsportz.

Ganguly's excitement was evident as he highlighted that one of the semi-finals would be held at his hometown's iconic Eden Gardens in Kolkata. This renowned venue previously hosted the final of the 1987 World Cup, the 2016 T20 World Cup, and a semi-final in the 1996 World Cup.

"I hope so. We are extremely happy to have five matches at the Eden Gardens. I must thank the BCCI and Jay Shah for giving us the semi-final. I had spoken to him, and I am sure the Cricket Association of Bengal must have spoken to him a number of times about the matches. Eden Gardens is a great venue — 60-70,000 capacity, and that also plays a huge role. We will upgrade it to around 100,000 in the next two years. Extremely happy because the World Cup is a big event, and Eden has hosted big matches in the past also," Ganguly added.

If India qualifies for the semi-finals, their match will be held at Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium. However, if they face Pakistan in the knockout clash, the game will take place in Kolkata. Pakistan's semi-final, regardless of the opponent, is scheduled to take place at the Eden Gardens.