ICC World Cup 2019 | The trophy will be coming to India, says Sachin Tendulkar
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Sachin Tendulkar has stated that India will win the upcoming World Cup in England and Wales, starting from May 30. Most critics have named England and India amongst the favourites but the legendary cricketer believes that the second-ranked side will go on to lift their third World Cup title.
The Virat Kohli-led Indian team have been on a roll in recent times. They defeated Australia in the series Down Under and followed it up with a thumping victory in New Zealand too. They lost the home series against Australia but Sachin Tendulkar believes that will not matter much as India will go on to win the World Cup.
India had won all but one match in the 2017 Champions Trophy, also held in England during the summer. Opening batsman Shikhar Dhawan had emerged as the highest run-getter with 338 runs in five innings, followed by Rohit Sharma at two and Virat Kohli at four. Though India lost the final match against Pakistan, they dominated throughout the tournament. Tendulkar feels that the wickets will play out in the same way and India will have an edge over others.
"It (the World Cup) will be coming to India," he said to reporters at the Tendulkar Middlesex Global Academy’s Summer Camp, reported TNN.
"I am told, it's going to be a hot summer. If you see the last time when we played the Champions Trophy, the wickets were superb. When the sun is out and it is hot, the wicket gets really flat. I'm sure they are going to give beautiful tracks to bat on. I personally don't think there will be much difference in the conditions unless there is a heavy cloud cover. When there is a heavy cloud cover, the ball might move around a bit but that happens in any part of the world for some time. I don't see it happening for a longer duration. Just for a few overs if at all. But if the sun is out, I don't see too much lateral movement."
All the players of the team are currently plying their trade in the Indian Premier League. KL Rahul, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni are all among the highest run-getters for their respective franchises. All-rounder Hardik Pandya has been at his aggressive best and even bowlers Mohammed Shami, Yuzvendra Chahal and Jasprit Bumrah are the highest wicket-takers for their sides. Though the format as well as the conditions are in a stark contrast to the ones in the quadrennial event, the Master Blaster feels that the players will go in with great confidence.
"When you perform well in any format it gives you confidence. The players have time to make some adjustments according to the conditions. All of them have played enough cricket to know what to do to improve," he signed off.
