Team India head coach Ravi Shastri is of the opinion that India has enough strength and firepower in their arsenal to go all the way in the upcoming ICC Cricket World Cup slated to be played between 30th May and 14th July in England and Wales.
Meanwhile, Ravi Shastri also clarified that unlike MSK Prasad’s views that Vijay Shankar was the designated NO 4 for the showpiece event, anyone depending on the condition can bat at that crucial position. He stated that there is no certainty that who will take that role.
“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,” Ravi Shastri said in an interview with Cricket Next.
I think we have got all the bases covered. The 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 added.
India might face some problem during the showpiece event due to the injury sustained to Kedar Jadhav and the indifferent form of Kuldeep Yadav. Kedar Jadhav missed he later half of the tournament after sustaining a shoulder injury. He was plying his trade for the Chennai Super Kings.
Meanwhile, Kuldeep Yadav had a horrendous season with the ball and bagged just 3 wickets in 10 matches. He was plundered for 28 runs in an over of Moeen Ali and never returned to the playing XI after that match. However, Ravi Shastri isn’t worried at all.
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.
“In these big tournaments…. You go with the flow, you react spontaneously to different situations and the four years that have gone in between the World Cup, that’s what prepares teams,” he said.
Meanwhile, Ravi Shastri also picked Australia and Windies to watch out for in the upcoming World Cup.
“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,” Shastri said.
“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.”
Meanwhile, Australia also won their previous series in India by a 3-2 margin after trailing 0-2. This was their first ODI series win in India after 10 years. More than that Australia is a team who knows how to win big matches. They are the most successful team in the tournament with 5 titles under their belt.
“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 said.