Which Country Will Host the 2023 Cricket World Cup?

As the countdown to the 2023 Cricket World Cup starts, we have a look at which countries have hosted the Cricket World Cups in the past. The 2023 Cricket World Cup will be held in India.

List of countries that have hosted the ODI cricket world cup

Introduction about ODI cricket world cup

Not until 1973 did India have its own version of a World Cup, and it all started with a Women’s World Cup conducted in England, which saw 7 teams contest each other. A couple of years later, a men’s version arrived and it did not take long for the tournament to become Cricket’s most elite prize. 

The first-ever final of the Men’s ODI Cricket World Cup saw a swashbuckling century from West Indian skipper Sir Clive Lloyd, and also some unforgettable fielding exploits from a then-youngster, Sir Vivian Richards. From there, to the moment when Jos Buttler stretched and dislodged the bails to crown England as champions in 2019 – This tournament has witnessed many cherish-worthy moments.  

Cricket World Cup Winners

The tournament has seen six different winners to this date, with England being the latest addition. West Indies were crowned champions in the opening two editions of the tournament under the leadership of Sir Clive Lloyd and just when they were on the verge of making it three, a resurgent Indian unit rewrote history and won their first title in 1983. 

Allan Border’s rampant Aussies had a tough face-off against arch-rivals England in the 1987 finals in Kolkata, but the former managed to pull through to win the first of their five World Cup titles. Pakistan and Sri Lanka had their first major sporting triumphs in the next two editions, which proved to be their only 50-over titles to this date. 

Then began the unmatched dominance of Australia in the 1999 World Cup. Steve Waugh’s men, despite coming across some stumbling blocks, managed to romp through and win their second World Cup. Ricky Ponting took charge in 2003, winning two World Cups without losing a game. 

India broke the deadlock of the hosting team not winning the trophy, by scripting a fairy tale triumph in 2011 and that embarked on a whole different trend. Australia and England, the next two hosts after 2011, managed to win the title in front of their home crowd.  

Also Read: Cricket World Cup Winners List – Here are all the Winners of the ODI WC

This is indeed a very brief summary of what has been a gobsmacking four-and-a-half decade of Cricket World Cup. The desire to win it and the pride some of these champions take in winning the title, is a clear indication of why it is the most important prize in Cricket. The next battle for this coveted crown begins in October 2023. 

Which country will host the 2023 Cricket World Cup?

While some fans are yet to sink in the extravagant finale at the Lord’s that managed to enthral and mesmerize every cricket-loving soul, various others are eager for the next edition, which isn’t a long time away from commencement. With the added burden of host teams winning the last three World Cups, India will be welcoming the Cricketing universe with tremendous pressure on their shoulders. 

This will be the first time since the inception of this tournament where a subcontinent country will be individually hosting the 50-over World Cup. In 1987, India and Pakistan co-hosted the tournament and in 1996, these two countries had another company in Sri Lanka, making it 3 hosts for one tournament. 

Something similar happened in 2011 when India remained as the chief hosts whilst Sri Lanka and Bangladesh saw a fair amount of action as well. But in 2023, India will be hosting it without the support of its neighbouring countries. This is also the first time since 1987 that a World Cup in the sub-continent will be happening in the post-monsoon, pre-winter season. The 1996 and 2011 editions were hosted during the pre-summer season.

England were the first-ever hosts of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup and they staged the event for the first three editions. After India had won in 1983, the BCCI pushed extensively for the tournament to be conducted in India and the next two editions were eventually hosted by defending champions. 

Australia, alongside the support from Trans-Tasman rivals New Zealand, hosted the tournament in 1992 but the final was played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground as the Aussies were the defending champions. Pakistan got to host the final in the next edition while co-hosting alongside India and Sri Lanka, but after that, the trend changed once again. 

England hosted the tournament for the first time after 16 years in 1999, and for the first time in its history, the tournament hit the shores of Africa in 2003. The Caribbean Islands welcomed the cricketing universe in 2007, and the following editions saw previous hosts India, Australia-New Zealand, and England stage the event in 2011, 2015 and 2019 respectively. 

Which teams will take part in the 2023 Cricket World Cup?

ICC introduced a Cricket World Cup Super League, which involves all the full members of ICC and the Netherlands compete against each other in a series of bilateral ODI outings involving 3 games per series. The teams that finish in the top 8 at the end of this Super League in March 2023 will be heading to the main tournament, whilst the bottom five will fight it out for the two remaining positions. 

India have already qualified for the main tournament being the host nation, whilst the other 7 direct qualifications will be determined very soon. The pandemic has disrupted the process significantly, but the ICC officials are hopeful that the new system in implementation will work out well. 

Teams involved in the ICC World Cup Super League 2021-23  

1. India (Qualified)

2. Australia

3. Sri Lanka

4. Bangladesh

5. West Indies

6. Pakistan

7. England

8. New Zealand

9. South Africa

10. Afghanistan

11. Zimbabwe

12. Ireland

13. Netherlands (Winners of the World Cricket League Championship 2015-17).

Major record holders in the ODI Cricket World Cup

Sachin Tendulkar, who last featured in this tournament in the 2011 edition, is the highest run-scorer in this tournament history and is only one of the two players to have played six World Cups, alongside Javed Miandad. Rohit Sharma equalled his record for most centuries in the tournament by scoring his 6^th World Cup hundred against Sri Lanka in 2019. He also became the first cricketer to score 5 World Cup centuries in a single edition. 

Glenn McGrath, a 3-time World champion with Australia, leads the wicket-taking charts with 71 wickets to his credit. Muttiah Muralitharan is a close-second, with 68 scalps to his credit. Mitchell Starc could get very high up in the list of these wicket-takers this edition, having already picked up 49 wickets in the last two editions of the tournament. He is 22 short of equalling McGrath, and not many would bet against him to level or surpass him. 

Most Runs in Cricket World Cup History

Most Wickets in World Cup History

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