ODI World Cup 2023: Former England pacer Steve Harmison urges ICC to change rule for mega event

Former England cricketer Steve Harmison has criticized the current ODI World Cup roster limit of just 15 players and urged the International Cricket Council (ICC) to allow countries to name more players. For instance, England made the difficult choice to drop opener Jason Roy to make room for Harry Brook in their lineup.  

According to Harmison, each team should have been able to select at least 18 players for their roster, and each team should have been required to play a minimum of nine games in ten different stadiums. The legendary pacer expects that England will need to use more than 15 players during the competition as teams are allowed to use reserves if an injury prevents a regular player from participating.

"You can only get 15 men in a squad and that, for me, I can't understand. England have got nine games in eight different venues with internal flights, hotels and everything that goes with it. England are going to need more than 15," Harmison said.

Check: Cricket World Cup 2023 Teams & Squads

"You look at England's fast bowlers and two that spring out when you see the 15 names are Mark Wood and Reece Topley, two bowlers who have struggled from an injury point of view in the past. Eight different venues before the knockout stages, that's eight different plane journeys and the internal flights are not exactly business classes in India!," Harmison told exclusively to Mirror.co.uk.

It is gruelling from a fast bowler's point of view that's why I don't think a 15-man squad is enough: Harmison

From a fast bowler’s perspective, according to Steve Harmison, it should have been 18 or 20, he continued. The 44-year-old went on to say that it will be a difficult start for England from a venue perspective after playing in Ahmedabad, and then travelling to Himachal Pradesh for their ODI World Cup 2023 fixtures, which falls in a colder zone geographically.

"It is gruelling from a fast bowler's point of view and that's why I don't think a 15-man squad is enough. I think it should have been 18, possibly 20. I know that plays into the hands of the big boys, but from a fast bowler's point of view I think England are going to use more," Harmison stated.

"England play New Zealand in Ahmedabad in the first game where it'll be red-hot, mid to late 30s and then they go to Dharamsala which is going to be 20 degrees cooler in the mountains five days later. It's a tough start for England from a venue point of view, but from an opposition point of view once you get the first game (against New Zealand) out of the way, I think Bangladesh and Afghanistan are two nice games for England," the former pacer concluded.