Sourav Ganguly picks both India and Pakistan as World Cup semi-finalists

The Virat Kohli led team India have been on a roll in the past few years, in all the formats of the game. Since Virat Kohli took over as the ODI captain in January 2017, he has won 49 out of 68 games, whereas the vice-captain Rohit Sharma has won eight out of the ten games that he has captained. Former India captain Sourav Ganguly believes that the number two ranked ODI team will find a spot among the semi-finalists of the World Cup, along with Australia, Pakistan and top ranked England.

“My pick for the four semi-finalists spot would be India, Australia, England and Pakistan. India are one of the title-contenders of course,” he said in an interview, reported PTI.

The ten team event in the round-robin format this time, with each playing nine ODIs before the knockouts. The legendary batsman named the 2011 champions among the favourites, but also cautioned them against other teams

“It’s going to be one of the most keenly contested World Cups. Indian team is so strong that in any tournament they will be favourites. This World Cup will probably be the best format. The best four teams will reach the semi-finals playing all the teams. There are no easy teams,” the 46 year old suggested.

India’s premier spinner Kuldeep Yadav has been below par for Kolkata Knight Riders in this year’s Indian Premier League. The 24-year old also has been dropped as he was only able to scalp four wickets in nine games, but the southpaw reckoned that he will come back strong in the quadrennial event.

“He will get wickets in the World Cup, don’t worry. He’s a superb bowler,” he said.

Delhi Capitals have hardly been successful in the last 11 seasons of the cash rich league, but in the current season, they have positioned themselves at the second position on the points at the moment, with seven wins in eleven games. Ganguly had signed up as the advisor for the side prior to the start of the season and was delighted with the good returns.

“I don’t see the challenges as tough, I just find a way to try and make it work. Sometimes it works, sometimes it does not. It’s a great honour to help these players and turn around a team which has not done well in the past,” said the 2003 World Cup runner up.

DC relies heavily on its top four which consists of Shikhar Dhawan along with other youngsters like Prithvi Shaw, skipper Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant. Even in the bowling department, 23-year-old Kagiso Rabada and 18-year-old Sandeep Lamichhane form a vital part of the attack, with the presence of seasoned campaigners like Trent Boult, Amit Mishra and Ishant Sharma. Ganguly did not fail to credit the players for the team’s turnaround in fortunes.

“Delhi is a mixture of youth and experience. I can only advice so the credit should go to players who actually execute it,” he asserted.

“IPL is pure sport. The glitz and glamour is just 15 per cent. 85% is actually professional, hard cricket. Players are under enormous pressure to perform,” he added.

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