The Big 3 of world cricket, on the field and off the field. That cant be a coincidence, but that topic for another time. These three are on paper the strongest contenders to reach the final and lift the trophy on the 19th of November. But what makes them so much stronger than the rest? And are they unbeatable?

Australia

5 time champions, and very hard to beat. Very rarely will you ever see an Australian team just give up and fold in a game of cricket. A number of their stars are at the fag end of their careers so this will be one last hurrah for the golden generation of 2015 to add to that crown.

Strengths: Strong balanced batting line up and huge hitters in the middle Maxwell, Green, Stoinis and Marsh are the envy for the rest of the world. Smith will be the glue, to allow the rest of the batsman to flourish. A world class fast bowling line up in Hazlewood, Cummins and Starc, i would say the best in the tournament.

Weaknesses: Huge dependence on Adam Zampa to take wickets in the middle of the innings as the front line spinner. Out of the spinners at this tournament he’s number 3 on the list with the most wickets (26) this year in this format

Threats: As I will say for most of the teams, the travel and weather through this tournament will be a huge external factor in keeping the players fit and fresh throughout the next 6-8 weeks. Temperatures are still scorching during the day (33-35C) even in north India, so teams might bat 1st just to keep the players away from the heat. Managing current injuries are also very important, Maxwell, Starc are just returning from injuries and managing their work load will be very important. Potential banana skin for them to avoid would be the game against Sri Lanka in Lucknow, this would be on the back of the games against India and South Africa. A typical Lucknow wicket could make this very interesting and one where the Aussies will need to be on their toes.

Player to watch: The Big Show, or Glenn Maxwell will be a key cog to Australia going all the way. Even though he’s returning from a long term injury and hasn’t played that much cricket in the last few months, he’s a multi dimensional cricketer, and his bowling and batting could prove to be the difference between a title or going away empty handed.

Predicted Finish: SemiFinal/Final – They will definitely get to the final 4, but i think the other two teams I have as favourites will pip them to the title.

England

Travel back in time on the 9th of March 2015 and tell an England supporter you will be the most feared white ball team in 8 years time and would have won 2 ICC tournaments, and they would laugh you out of the room. But the step change and approach since then has been huge and the credit has to go to Trevor Bayliss and Eoin Morgan to transform the white ball set up in England. Before the Asia Cup I would have said England are the outright favourites to go all the way, but as you will find out below I think they will get some competition form the team below.

Strengths: The most balanced team in the competition. The clarity of roles and responsibility in this team are spot on and that’s what makes them one of the best teams in white ball cricket. They bat all the way down to number 10, with Rashid , who has 10 first class hundreds to his name. The rate at which they score their runs is outstanding, 6 out of their top 7 have a strike rate of more than 90 and 4 out of those 6 more than a 100. Their bowling is also varied in a left armer, leg spin off spin etc.

Weaknesses: This was the most difficult section to write out of all my three previews as there aren’t too many gaps in this England team. The three questions i have are (1)how do they cope when their pacers are under the pump on a hot day. Can the likes of Rashid and Ali bring control to the scoring? (2) If Rashid gets injured they lose their wicket taking ability in the middle? He has approx 17% of all wickets for England in the last year in this format. (3) The raw pace of Wood and Atkinson are they undercooked? Wood has only played 2 ODIs this year and Atkinson hasnt played in India before. Ofcourse if an injury was to happen they do have Jofra in the reserves.

Threats: Injury and Player Management will be key. They are carrying a few members with some niggle or are prone to breakdown, e.g. Stokes, Topley, Wood, Woakes, and Rashid is coming back from a layoff. Rotation of the fast bowlers will be critical to their chances at the business end of the tournament. In terms of banana skins, for some reason Bangladesh always prove to be difficult for England in ODI WCs (2011 and 2015) but the pacy wicket in Dharamshala could work to their advantage. The other one could be Afghanistan in Delhi who gave them a scare in the 2016 T20 WC.

Player to watch: Jos Buttler in the middle order i think will be England’s key player in chasing totals and setting up huge targets. He’s the best white ball batsman England have ever produced and I think in his last world cup he will want to leave on a high.

Predicted Finish: Final – I will back England to get to the Final if they don’t lose major players to injury in the world cup. If they are able to get over the line, it will confirm their status as one of the best white ball teams in history.

India

The hosts, the most followed sports team on the planet, with the weight of expectation from at least 1.5Bn people (within India) plus all the Indians across the globe. Twelve years on from that night in Mumbai, they once again come into this tournament with huge expectation and as the No 1 ranked team in the world.

Strengths: The Top 3 with the bat are probably the best in the business, they have got runs behind them and will be feared by most bowling line ups. The king (Kohli) with 4 hundreds and the protégé (Gill) with 5 hundreds in the last year are the ones to watch out, mind you skipper Sharma hit 5 hundred in the last edition so im sure he will have a say in the tournament too. Their pace attack is as good as its ever been Bumrah returning is huge plus with world no 1 Siraj on top of this game. I think Shami will play a role too and probably be rotated with Bumrah throughout the tournament.

Weaknesses: The balance of their team. India individually has some of the best players in the world but not enough who can do a bit of both. Their best 5 batsman cannot bowl, and their best 3 pacers cant be trusted to consistently produce runs. Personally they will really need to chop and change based on the opposition. I also do worry a little bit with no5, 6, 7 and 8. I know Shreyas got a hundred last week but he’s coming back from big injury, same with Hardik. I don’t quite have the confidence in Jadeja (avg of 27), Shardul (avg of 7) and Ashwin to really make huge contributions with the bat. This will definitely impact how they play against the big teams or in the knock outs. Also a very right handed heavy line up, Rishabh Pant is a big miss.

Threats: Some pundits have said the weight of expectation will be on the players mind, honestly they have been used to it for years. Personally I think the biggest threat for this team is removing the mental block in recent years to win the knockout games in ICC tournaments. Since the triumph in 2013 ICC Champions Trophy, India have won 2 out of a possible 8 knockout games across T20 and 50 over ICC events plus an additional 2 defeats in the World Test Championships in 2021 and 2023. Also just because the tournament is happening in India, there is no divine right for India to win the tournament as we saw in 2006 and 2016, India can slip up in India. One potential banana skin for India could be the game against Afghanistan on 11th October. Key factors are ,the turning track, scheduling in the middle of two key fixtures vs Australia and Pakistan, their current struggles vs spin and how the last match in 2019 went, all points to a tricky encounter.

Player to watch: He might not be the first player people thought of in the 15 man squad, but i strongly believe that if he doesn’t take at least 15-18 wickets in this tournament India wont be successful. Kuldeep’s wickets in the middle will be crucial on indian wickets and how he reacts to pressure when under the pump will be very interesting to see. He offers mystery spin and has really improved as a bowler with 40+ wickets at an economy of less than 5 are outstanding returns in the last 12 months

Predicted Finish: Final – Anything less than a top two finish will be disappointing. You cannot control what happens in the Final but if they get there on 19th November 2023, Ahmedabad will be the place to be!

Just one more sleep to go for the mega event to begin. I feel the excitement has been building for the last few months. Time for the talking to stop and for the players to take centre stage!