World Cup 2019 | I think we have got all bases covered, says Ravi Shastri
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India’s coach Ravi Shastri has said that India have all the bases covered going into the upcoming World Cup in England and Wales and are a flexible side. India are red hot favourites in the quadrennial event and have been a force to be reckoned with in the ODIs in recent times.
The recently concluded Indian Premier League saw a lot of Indian players, who are in the World Cup squad, struggling for form. However, Coach Ravi Shastri is not concerned with the form and has said that the side has enough ammunition in their artillery. Shastri has also claimed that India have a versatile side and players who can fulfil a particular role on a day.
“I think we have got all bases covered. Last thing you want is passengers on the tour. You want to have in those 15 players ... who can play anytime, at any given time. If there is a major injury to a fast bowler, there will be a replacement almost straight away,” Shastri said, reported PTI.
“We are a flexible team. It’s horses for courses, we have got enough ammunition. We have got enough players who can bat at 4. So, I am not really worried about that,” Shastri added.
Kedar Jadhav suffered a mistimed injury in the IPL and is now recovering well while Kuldeep Yadav’s form hit a new low in the IPL. However, Shastri is not all concerned about it and also hopes for Jadhav’s speedy recovery.
“It doesn’t worry me at all. In fact, I am totally blanked out from that. When the flight takes off on the 22nd, (May) we will see who are the 15 on that and just take it from there. Luckily in Kedar’s case, there is no fracture so we will wait and watch. There is still time so it should be ok,” he said.
Shastri also named West Indies and Australia as the teams to watch out for in the World Cup. He has also emphasised on Chris Gayle and Andre Russell’s inclusion, who were not there in the series against India, in the current squad.
“When they (West Indies) were in India I said we might have beaten them but we had a tough series and they played some excellent cricket. And I said that at the given time, there was no (Chris) Gayle, there was no (Andre) Russell in that side. I said watch out for this side, they have serious talent and I was very happy about that. Because you have played in the glory days of West Indies against some of the best players to have played the game and then the country has gone through some real debacles. The power hitting there is something that no team comes close. When it comes to the sheer ability to hit sixes, they are way up the ladder there.”
Australia, on the other hand, have been one of the consistent sides when it comes to the World Cup and have won the trophy four times. Australia have regained some rhythm after beating India and Pakistan recently and Smith and Warner’s return has only bolstered the side.
“You would expect that from Australia. They have won more World Cups than any other team in the last 25 years. There is never an Australian team which is not competitive. And now they have got all their players back and they seem to be in pretty good form but then again in the World Cup it is that given day,” Shastri added.
