The ICC Cricket World Cup is about to start as the top ten teams will fight out for the prize starting from 5th October 2023. It promises an exciting tournament as the bowlers need to showcase their class against top-quality batters and make sure that they come up with match-winning efforts helping their teams win matches on their own.
It is going to be an exciting challenge for the bowlers as the pacers and spinners need to depend upon the variations to become successful. The ten 10 teams participating have some quality bowlers that can change the course of the match with their brilliant efforts.
Here we look at the Probable Leading Wicket wicket-takers from Each Team in World Cup 2023.
- India (Kuldeep Yadav)
The left-arm chinamen has been in sensational form of late with brilliant performances in the recently concluded Asia Cup 2023. He proved his worth with 5 for 25 against Pakistan and a 4-wicket haul against Sri Lanka to help Team India register victories on both occasions.
For his 9-wicket haul, Kuldeep Yadav was named the Player of the Series award during the Asia Cup 2023. He will play a key role for Team India in the middle overs to pick wickets and put pressure on opponents with his variations. His contributions will be key for Team India to restrict the opponents by picking up wickets and make sure that his spells help Rohit Sharma and Co win matches on his own.
- Australia (Mitchell Starc)
The left-arm pace bowler from Australia, Mitchell Starc has risen to the occasion in World Cups. His performances has stood out and helped the Australian team win matches with his opening spell.
Mitchell Starc ended the 2019 World Cup as the leading run wicket-taker with 27 wickets from 10 matches (10 innings) at an economy of 5.43 runs per over and best figures of 5 for 26. His ability to swing the new ball and pick early wickets makes him a dangerous bowler to face. Starc will play a key role for Australia to pick early wickets and put the opponent under immense restricting them to a chaseable total.
- England (Mark Wood)
The express pace bowler Mark Wood will look to trouble the batters with pace and bounce on good batting pitches in India. He has been struggling off late with injuries.
Mark Wood played a key role in England’s victorious run during the 2019 World Cup. He ended with 18 wickets from 10 matches ( 10 innings) at an economy of 5.16 runs per over. During the tournament, Wood picked figures of 3/18. He is the only genuine fast bowler in England’s squad and would be looking to unleash himself during the 2023 World Cup.
- South Africa (Kagiso Rabada)
Kagiso Rabada is another genuine pace bowler who can trouble opponents with pace and bounce. With no Anrich Nortje in the squad due to an injury, Rabada will play a key role in picking early wickets with the new ball.
Rabada had a decent 2019 World Cup with 11 wickets from 9 matches (8 innings) at an economy of 5.08 runs per over. He needs to deliver the goods with a new ball and keep the opponent batters under check.
- New Zealand (Trent Boult)
Trent Boult had a decent outing in a One Day International after returning to the squad. He grabbed five five-wicket hauls against England at Kennington Oval, London where other New Zealand bowlers went to the cleaners.
He has done brilliantly for New Zealand picking early wickets with new ball. During the 2019 edition of the World Cup, Boult played a key role in helping the Kiwis reach their 2nd successive ICC World Cup finals.
Boult took a total of 17 wickets from 10 matches (10 innings) at an economy of 4.83 runs per over and best figures of 4 for 30. He would play a key role for New Zealand in providing early wickets and put the opponent under immense pressure.
- Sri Lanka (Matheesha Pathirana)
Matheesha Pathirana will be playing his first World Cup for Sri Lanka. He impressed one and all in the recently concluded Asia Cup 2023 as he finished the leading wicket-taker in the tournament. Pathirana picked up 11 wickets in 6 matches (6 innings) at an economy of 6.61 runs per over and best figures of 4 for 32 against Bangladesh.
He has the experience of playing for Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League 2023. Pathirana would play a key role in helping Sri Lanka pick up wickets in the middle overs and stop the flow of runs in the death overs. Sri Lanka would be hoping for him to create an impact with his actions and make sure that he does not go for runs.
- Bangladesh (Shakib-al-Hasan)
Shakib-al-Hasan has been the backbone of the Bangladeshi bowling lineup for a quite long time. He will look to lead the side with the ball and put pressure on the opponents with his variations that would make life tough for batters.
Shakib had a decent outing for Bangladesh in WC 2019 with 11 wickets from 8 matches ( 8 innings) at an economy of 5.39 runs per over. During that tournament, the legendary bowler grabbed figures of 5 for 29.
If Bangladesh needs to win matches in India, Shakib AL Hasan must take wickets in the middle overs if the new ball bowlers do not get wickets during the initial 10 overs.
- Netherlands (Logan Van Beek)
Logan Van Beek is a right-arm pace bowler who can surprise opponents with swing and seam movement. He played a key role in helping the Netherlands to stun West Indies in the 2023 ICC World Cup qualifying round.
Beek had a decent outing in the ICC World Cup qualifiers played this year. He grabbed a total of 12 wickets from 8 matches (8 innings) at an economy of 5 runs per over. Netherlands will rely on him to provide wickets and put the opponents under pressure making sure that the opponents do not hit big scores.
- Afghanistan (Rashid Khan)
Rashid Khan is one of the best spinners in the 20-over format. He has struggled to pick wickets in middle overs as the batters look to rotate the strike and keep the scoreboard ticking. During the recently concluded Asia Cup 2023, Rashid struggled picking up only 2 wickets from 2 matches at an economy of 6.45 runs per over. The leg spinner took 2 wickets for 63 runs in the second league match against Sri Lanka at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore.
He had a disappointing outing during the 2019 World Cup picking up only 6 wickets from 9 matches (8 innings) at an economy of 5.79 runs per over and figures of 2 for 17. With the conditions likely to help the spinners, Rashid Khan would play a key role for Afghanistan in picking wickets in middle overs stopping opponents to post big totals or chase down targets.
10. Pakistan (Shaheen Shah Afridi)
Shaheen Shah Afridi will be leading the bowling department during the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023. He looked in sensational touch during the recently concluded Asia Cup where Pakistan could not qualify for the finals.
He finished as the leading wicket-taker for Pakistan with 10 wickets from 5 matches (5 innings) at an economy of 5.73 runs per over and best figures of 4 for 35. His role is to pick early wickets with the new ball and put the opponent batters under pressure making life tough for the batters.
Shaheen Shah Afridi had a superb tournament in the 2019 World Cup with 16 wickets from 5 matches ( 5 innings) at an economy of 4.96 runs per over and best figures of 6 for 35 against Bangladesh. The onus will be on Shaheen Shah Afridi to do the early damage and also pick wickets whenever the Pakistan captain Babar Azam needs him.
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