Atul Wassan, a former international cricketer, stated
the “Men in Blue” are not the “hot favourites” going into
the ODI World Cup next month, despite the fact that India won at the Premadasa
on Sunday, humiliating the defending champions Sri Lanka by 10 wickets to win
their 8th Asia Cup. In less than two weeks, the 50-over championship, which
will be held in India this year, will begin. Wassan commented on India’s
chances to win their third world championship after MS Dhoni led his team to
victory in 2013. Wassan stated that he thought the team’s chances in the
competition would be greatly influenced by the nature of the playing surfaces
and whether they built on their success in the AsiaCup.
“We are ready for the World Cup. The Indian fans
believe that they are the hot favourites to lift the trophy this year. However,
if our team goes into the tournament as the favourite and suffers an early
exit, the fans will be left heartbroken as they have been over the last 13
years. Hence, I believe it is best to temper our expectations while being
cautiously optimistic about our chances. I think we are not the hot favourites.
Much of our chances in the tournament would depend on how we go from here (Asia
Cup success) and the kind of pitches we play on,” the former India
speedster told ANI.
He said that he supported head coach Rahul Dravid’s
decision to use new ball bowlers in the 50-over format rather than red-ball or
Test bowlers because they would get more movement and swing out of the red
cherry in the early overs.
“I would personally endorse Rahul Dravid’s
thinking that bowlers, mostly suited to the Test format, will also do well in
ODIs as the new ball swings and seams in the early overs and a team needs to go
in with attacking bowlers who can get early breakthroughs. You can’t have
attacking bowlers in ODIs operating on defensive lines and lengths and trying
to save runs. It’s wickets that win you matches,” the former India opening
bowler added.
“Delighted as I am at India winning the Asia Cup
after 5 years, I believe that this victory is only the beginning. It’s the
beginning of a process that can take us to more glories down the road. Everyone
is looking forward to India going well in the World Cup and our team does look
balanced and settled,” Wassan signed off saying.