The stage is set. The countdown begins. In 10 days' time on October 5, the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup will kick off in India, with England and New Zealand locking horns in the tournament opener at Ahmedabad. Two-time World Cup champions India are set to host this ODI extravaganza that will see 10 competitive teams fighting for one ultimate prize - the glittering World Cup trophy!

Team India, led by captain Rohit Sharma, will begin their campaign on October 8, with Australia being their first opponent. They will then proceed to play against Afghanistan 3 days later. The highly-anticipated clash against Pakistan will be played on October 15 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. All matches will start at 2 PM IST.

Full squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Hardik Pandya (vc), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Axar Patel, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav.

":2,"2":"date"}"="">Date ":2,"2":"opponent"}"="">Opponent ":2,"2":"venue"}"="">Venue":2,"2":"8th="" oct"}"="">8th Oct ":2,"2":"australia"}"="">Australia ":2,"2":"ma="" chidambaram="" stadium,="" chennai"}"="">MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai":2,"2":"11th="" oct"}"="">11th Oct ":2,"2":"afghanistan"}"="">Afghanistan ":2,"2":"arun="" jaitley="" stadium,="" delhi"}"="">Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi":2,"2":"15th="" oct"}"="">15th Oct ":2,"2":"pakistan"}"="">Pakistan ":2,"2":"narendra="" modi="" stadium,="" ahmedabad"}"="">Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad":2,"2":"19th="" oct"}"="">19th Oct ":2,"2":"bangladesh"}"="">Bangladesh ":2,"2":"maharashtra="" cricket="" association="" stadium,="" pune"}"="">Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune":2,"2":"22nd="" oct"}"="">22nd Oct ":2,"2":"new="" zealand"}"="">New Zealand ":2,"2":"himachal="" pradesh="" cricket="" association="" stadium,="" dharamsala"}"="">Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium, Dharamsala":2,"2":"29th="" oct"}"="">29th Oct ":2,"2":"england"}"="">England ":2,"2":"bharat="" ratna="" shri="" atal="" bihari="" vajpayee="" ekana="" cricket="" stadium,="" lucknow"}"="">Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow":2,"2":"2nd="" nov"}"="">2nd Nov ":2,"2":"sri="" lanka"}"="">Sri Lanka ":2,"2":"wankhede="" stadium,="" mumbai"}"="">Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai":2,"2":"5th="" nov"}"="">5th Nov ":2,"2":"south="" africa"}"="">South Africa ":2,"2":"eden="" gardens,="" kolkata"}"="">Eden Gardens, Kolkata
ICC Cricket World Cup 2023: Team India Schedule
12th Nov Netherlands M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru

As for the Royals, New Zealand pacer Trent Boult, England's Jos Buttler and Joe Root, and Australian leg-spinner Adam Zampa are all set to feature for their respective national teams in this World Cup edition. While Boult was the 7th highest wicket-taker in the 2019 World Cup, both Buttler and Root were part of the victorious England side as they lifted their first-ever 50-over trophy. This will be Zampa's second appearance at a World Cup tournament.

Prizes in store

The ICC recently announced the cash prizes for the participating teams, with the winning team set to take home 4 million USD. A total of 10 million USD is set to be allocated as cash prizes for the tournament. The runners-up will receive 2 million USD, while all teams will have the opportunity to win 40,000 USD for every victory in the group stage. In addition, teams that don't make it to the group stage will also get a sum of 100,000 USD each. The tournament will be played in a round-robin format, with all 10 teams set to play each other at least once and top 4 teams on the points table qualifying for the semi-finals.