‘Always a threat’: Kevin Pietersen rates Pakistan highly for World Cup 2023

The ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 is just around the corner and while the teams preparing to perform at the mega event, former cricketers are analysing other teams and are naming the favourites.

Similarly, former England batter Kevin Pietersen took to his X, formerly Twitter, account and named potential contenders for the World Cup with reasons.

Pakistan is known for their unpredictability as they have a record of performing when everyone rules them out. Pietersen named them a favourite for the same reason that the Green Shirts can never be underestimated on the biggest stage.

The other favourites Pietersen named were South Africa, India, England and of course, Australia.

According to the former batter, the Proteas emerged as clear favourites after their latest One Day International (ODI) series triumph against Australia. He mentioned destructive batter Heinrich Klaasen, who recently scored a whopping 174 off 83, is the major asset.

India will be playing at home with massive support from the crowd and favourable playing conditions. With their recent performance in the Asia Cup, Pietersen naming them favourites comes as no surprise.

England was mentioned alongside India by the former cricketer as the 15-man squad announced by the defending Champions have massive depth along with match winners.

Lastly, no one can rule out Australia when it comes to the World Cup and Pietersen did the same, naming them one of the favourites.

The ICC World Cup 2023 will take place in India with 10 teams fighting for the elusive title across 10 venues from October 5 to November 19, with the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad hosting the tournament opener and the final.

The Cricket World Cup will be played in a round-robin format with all teams playing against each other for a total of 45 league matches.

The top four teams will qualify for the semifinals, which will be held in Mumbai on November 15 and in Kolkata on November 16. The semi-finals and the final will have reserve days.

According to the tournament's regulations, all teams must finalise their 15-player squads prior to September 28, with any replacements after this date requiring approval from the ICC.