India is set to begin their world cup journey today. The inaugural match for them is scheduled to happen with Ireland in New York. The world cup happening in United States has garnered the attention of global sports fans and is special for India in many ways. The 2023 World Cup final loss is fresh in the minds of every Indian fan, and thus world cup gives a chance to redeem it. Furthermore knowing that this world cup could potentially be the last one for Virat and Rohit make it even important for the team. Which is why everyone wishes to see our team excel here. But looking at the situations and our squad, does India really stand a chance in this world cup?

To get an answer, let's deepdive into the squad, conditions in the host nation and few more factors. Obviously India is certainly not the favourites to win the tournament, as hardly anyone is expecting the team to win. But having a closer look at the squad, it seems like the team has it all which is required to make a balanced squad. A perfect right left combination for opening, a world class one down, a 360 degree two down, good middle order with some fast bowling all rounders, good spinners and lethal pace lineup. What is missing in the Indian squad however is a specialist finisher, and also a specialist off spinner. India does have Pandya to finish things off, but he is not a specialist finisher. Similarly, the team does have a chinaman in the form of Kuldeep Yadav, but misses a specialist right had off spinner.

But still the same can be compensated by the squad members. Now let's have a look at the conditions of United States and Caribbean. The pitches in US seem to be a little slow. They are however offering good turn, and that's where spinners could come in handy. If one recalls Rohit Sharma's statement on selecting many spinners in the squad, it now makes sense. He said that he wanted 4 specialist spinners, and 5 if he himself rolls the arm over, stating that he will share the reason later on. And it's now pretty evident from the way the matches in US are turning out to be. And looking at the spin which the wickets are offering, the team having players who possess ability to negate spin would have a great chance to excel. Which is why India does have a good chance knowing that Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Surya Kumar Yadav, Jaiswal, Pandya and Jadeja are good players of spin.

While one agrees that the spinners might be put to good use, the same can't necessarily be said about the pacers on US wickets. But in contrast to American wickets, the Carribbean islands would offer some help to the pacers. That's where the lineup of Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Siraj, Arshdeep Singh aided by Pandya would come into picture. Looking at the complete picture, in all possibilities it looks like matches happening in US would be taken care of by the spinners nicely, and in the Carribbean would be handled by pacers. Also one should not forget the ability of Bumrah to produce magical spells even on the least favouring wickets for pacers. In a nutshell, the bowling department looks pretty much sorted for the Men in Blue.

Speaking of the batters, it's fair to say that India does have the best top order lineup. The likes of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli can single handedly turn the match in their team's favour. And having the best T20 batter in the form of 360 degree Suryakumar Yadav serves as a massive advantage, as he can rapidly shift the gears to propel the score anytime. Even if one of the three gets going, can help India turn the tide in India's favour. What further strengthens India's case is the return of Pandya, who now looks in good touch with the bat. And all these people can fill in the void of a specialist finisher. The only thing which they need to worry about is performing in the knockouts. If pressure doesn't overpower them and they don't throw their wicket away in clutch moments, then in all possibilities India stands a good chance.

In a nutshell, looking closely at all the aspects, it's safe to conclude that India definitely has a wonderful chance to lift this title. Believe it or not, it is the case this year. Although the views of Indian public don't align with this, it could just prove to be an advantage in this situation. Usually the prayers of 1.4 billion people turn into pressure for the team, but this time when the expectations are less it would exponentially reduce pressure on the team. And if one looks at the history, it can be observed that when there are no expectations from a team, that's when they have the highest chance of peaking. The best examples of the same could be the 1983 World Cup victory by Indian team, and 2021 T20 and 2023 ODI World cup victories by Australia. And the Indian team led by Rohit Sharma can achieve a similar feat this time. Hopefully the same happens, as it would be the perfect farewell for Rahul Dravid, and would finally ensure that Virat and Rohit win a World Cup together.