“Not Hot Favourites”: Former Cricketer Atul Wassan On India’s World Cup Chances

While India reigned supreme on the Premadasa on Sunday, humbling defending champions Sri Lanka by 10 wickets to carry their eighth Asia Cup, former worldwide cricketer Atul Wassan stated the ‘Men in Blue’ will not be the “hot favourites” going into the ODI World Cup subsequent month. The 50-over showpiece, to be hosted in India this 12 months, will get underway in lower than a few weeks from now. Weighing in on India’s possibilities to assert their third world crown after 2013 when a sure MS Dhoni led his boys to glory, Wassan stated he believed that a lot of the workforce’s prospects within the match would rely upon the character of the surfaces they play on and whether or not they construct on their success within the Asia Cup.

“We are ready for the World Cup. The Indian fans believe that they are the hot favourites to lift the trophy this year. However, if our team goes into the tournament as the favourite and suffers an early exit, the fans will be left heartbroken as they have been over the last 13 years. Hence, I believe it is best to temper our expectations while being cautiously optimistic about our chances. I think we are not the hot favourites. Much of our chances in the tournament would depend on how we go from here (Asia Cup success) and the kind of pitches we play on,” the previous India speedster instructed ANI.

He added that he was in settlement with head coach Rahul Dravid’s tactic of using new ball bowlers, who’re finest suited to red-ball or Test format, in 50-over cricket as they might extract extra motion and swing from the purple cherry within the early overs.

“I would personally endorse Rahul Dravid’s thinking that bowlers, mostly suited to the Test format, will also do well in ODIs as the new ball swings and seams in the early overs and a team needs to go in with attacking bowlers who can get early breakthroughs. You can’t have attacking bowlers in ODIs operating on defensive lines and lengths and trying to save runs. It’s wickets that win you matches,” the previous India opening bowler added.

Hailing Team India’s dominating win within the Asia Cup ultimate on Sunday, Wassan stated the workforce does look settled forward of the showpiece occasion, with key gamers again from accidents and on tune.

“Delighted as I am at India winning the Asia Cup after 5 years, I believe that this victory is only the beginning. It’s the beginning of a process that can take us to more glories down the road. Everyone is looking forward to India going well in the World Cup and our team does look balanced and settled,” Wassan signed off saying.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV employees and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)