Former Pakistan skipper Shoaib Malik believes that the Indian team’s success in the ongoing ODI World Cup on home soil is primarily because of the larger pool of players and backup for the team in international cricket. The Men in Blue has done exceedingly well to secure the semifinal spot in the marque event.
Team India is not just beating opponents in the ongoing ODI World Cup; they have also exceeded everyone’s expectations by outperforming opponents who have come across their path, in terms of batting, bowling, and fielding. The Men in Blue have secured eight straight victories in the tournaments, and they would love to capture their third ODI World Cup title in the home conditions.
Speaking on A Sports, Shoaib Malik feels that the team India has covered all the aspects of the game, with them having their plan B ready in case of any injury to the key players and suggested the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) have a larger pool of players going forward.
“In this World Cup, India were covered from all the aspects. I am not talking about only three departments — bowling, batting and fielding,” Shoaib Malik said.
“They have suffered injuries as well but they kept their plan B ready. Moving forward, having a pool of players is going to be most important. Pool of players in every format and they should get equal chances so that when the opportunity comes, they are ready. We do go in the rebuilding process, but we don’t stick to our own decisions. We don’t work consistently on our decisions,” Shoaib Malik said.
Rohit Sharma-led side solidified the top spot in the group stage and became the first team to qualify for the knockout stages and are likely to take on New Zealand in the final four clash in the Wankhede stadium on Wednesday.
You Can’t Close Your Eyes On Those Areas – Misbah-ul-Haq
Misbah-ul-Haq stated that even a small weakness would plague the team’s chances against elite opponents, and he considers that Pakistan’s spinners have been the team’s largest weakness. He feels that the team management should solve this issue moving forward.
“When your pacers were doing well, they covered the weakness of our spinners. As a team management, you do keep an eye on things that are not working, and where we need improvement. You can’t close your eyes on those areas. In the pressure situation against big teams, those things will haunt you. Then again NRR things will come up,” Misbah-ul-Haq said.
Pakistan’s spinners are having a tough time in the World Cup. None of them have an average of less than 90 in this competition, making all four of them the worst spinners in the event. These numbers are the main reason behind the team’s failure and the pacers also having a tough time in Indian conditions.
