World Cup 2019 | India may have fab 15, but tournament is wide open, says Jonty Rhodes
Former South Africa cricketer Jonty Rhodes has said that India have a formidable 15-man squad for the upcoming World Cup, but everyone stand an equal chance of winning it. India have won the coveted title on couple of occasions back in 1983 and 2011 respectively and are tagged as favourites by many.
India have been unstoppable in recent times in the 50-over format and are brimming with confidence going into the World Cup. The 15-man squad announced by MSK Prasad-led selection committee is believed to be one of the strongest in the tournament.
Jonty Rhodes, who is widely reckoned for his incredible athleticism, believes that India may have a formidable squad but the tournament is wide open with all the teams standing an equal chance of winning it due to the change of format this season. The tournament will be played in the round-robin format and all the 10 teams will lock horns with each other with the top four qualifying for the semi-finals.
"India might have the fab 15 but there are probably six other teams that might call themselves the same. There are some very strong teams in the World Cup and it will depend on the balanced 11 that they choose on the day, depending on the conditions," Rhodes said, reported PTI.
Rhodes believes there are at least six other sides who have been impactful in recent times and gained momentum with the World Cup around. Rhodes emphasised on the change in format that has widen the tournament.
"India have got a lot of experience too. Even a young player like Bumrah is one of the more experienced death bowlers, so from that point of view India will be fancying their chances but there are six other sides. And I am not even talking about West Indies, who are ranked seventh. They have started to play decent 50-over cricket again and there is no team that can go into any match of the tournament as favourites. So every game is important, you need those points. The change in format has made it really wide open," added Rhodes.
Rhodes has also said that Hardik Pandya will have an important role to play for India in the World Cup and needs to make the adjustment quickly. Pandya has not only scored runs but also picked crucial wickets in the middle. He was unstoppable in the recently concluded IPL and will have to get used to 50-over format quickly.
“Hardik Pandya's role is really important because he is coming as a batsman and a bowler, and he has got the knack of taking wickets.But the key is that he needs to quickly adjust because in a T20 game you can face seven balls and bowl may be two overs and make a difference. And in a 50-over game, if you are going to finish a game, you might have to bat from 35 overs, so that is going to be the difference. And he has got the temperament, he backs himself and he just has to know that he has a job to do it's not about one helicopter shot. It is taking a game through like a Virat Kohli and finishing the match for India," said Rhodes.
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