The cricket's biggest carnival is on the horizon. The excitement is going through the roof as the ODI World Cup 2023 starts on October 5.
The tournament is happening in India and consists of 10 teams - India, England, Australia, Pakistan, New Zealand, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Bangladesh and the Netherlands. The likes of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Ben Stokes, Steve Smith, Heinrich Klaasen, Babar Azam, etc. will be in action and would want to take their respective team to World Cup glory.
More: Bet on ICC ODI World Cup 2023 and other cricket matches here!
But in the Indian conditions, where batters are already at an advantage, the role of the bowlers becomes even more important. As the saying is "Batters win you matches, bowlers win you tournaments", it will be no different in the upcoming ODI World Cup.
We at The Sporting News predict who can the highest wicket-taker in the nearing ICC event.
Predictions for best bowler in ODI World Cup 2023
Let's list out five names who can end as the highest wicket-taker in the Cricket World Cup 2023.
Jasprit Bumrah
This list cannot start with a better name than this. The mainstay of India's pace attack, Jasprit Bumrah, is firing at all cylinders ever since making a comeback from a back injury. For India to do well in the upcoming World Cup, Bumrah must have a good tournament as a bowler.
This will be his second ODI World Cup. In the 2019 edition, he was India's highest wicket-taker and played nine matches and took 18 scalps at an average of 20.61 and an economy rate of 4.41.
Kuldeep Yadav
Second India in this list, Kuldeep Yadav will be another vital cog in India's World Cup dreams. The left-arm wrist-spinner could extract help from the surfaces, which will aid tweakers. Although dew might be a factor that could bring him down, his skillset should be enough to negate that as well.
Mitchell Starc
The Australia left-arm fast-bowler Mitchell Starc is known for his ability to level up his performance in the ODI World Cups. He dominated the wickets tally in the 2015 and 2019 editions. It will not be a surprise if he bags this achievement again.
Trent Boult
Indians can never forget him and even to the whole world, his sharp left-arm swing is of the highest level. The Kiwi pacer Trent Boult will play a few matches in Dharamsala and the conditions there will suit him a lot. And who knows, he might end up being the best bowler of the tournament. Watch out for him!
Shaheen Shah Afridi
Pakistan have a reliable speedster in Shaheen Shah Afridi. Once the team had a three-pronged pace unit but with Naseem Shah ruled out of the World Cup and Haris Rauf too experiencing a dip in his form, it is down to Shaheen to lead Pakistan in the face of adversity. This could go either way and to only quote the positive, can bring the best out if him.
Notable mentions: Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Kagiso Rabada and Mohammed Siraj
Betting odds on who will be the highest wicket-taker in ODI World Cup 2023
The betting odds at Dafabet depict this:
| Player | Betting odds |
| Jasprit Bumrah | 9.00 |
| Kuldeep Yadav | 9.50 |
| Shaheen Shah Afridi | 10.00 |
| Mitchell Starc | 11.00 |
| Mohammed Siraj | 11.00 |
| Mohammad Shami | 13.00 |
| Adil Rashid | 15.00 |
| Haris Rauf | 15.00 |
| Rashid Khan | 15.00 |
| Ravindra Jadeja | 15.00 |
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