For any cricketer, the World Cup is always going to be a unique event in his or her career. It is all the more special and close to heart when the tournament is played at home. Like any other cricketer and aficionado in the country, I am also eagerly looking forward to the 2023 ICC Men’s ODI World Cup. India are hosting the event alone for the first time, and the matches are spread across the length and breadth of the country. I am sure that fans will throng the stadiums at all the centres and support India with all their hearts.
India, at home, will always be the favourites. We have a very good team and we will do well in the tournament. We recently won the Asia Cup and also started off well by beating Australia in the first of the three-match ODI series. So, the momentum is right. My confidence about the team’s chances is high also because of the fact that we have a good batting line-up that has the right mixture of experience and youth. Our bowling looks solid, and so does fielding.
The World Cup is a prestigious event, and all teams will give their best shot. If one looks closely at all the teams, they have some quality players in the ranks. It will be a highly competitive tournament. I, however, firmly believe that apart from India, Australia and England are the other two sides that have the potential to win the World Cup. Both teams have been playing a lot of white-ball cricket and their players’ presence in the Indian Premier League will help them on the familiarity count. Australia have, in the past, won the World Cup on Indian soil; it should also come in handy for them.
Having said that, India have not lifted the trophy since 2011. So they will be charged up. I am confident that we have the team and resources to win the World Cup. As far as Pakistan are concerned, the team lacks the experience of playing in India, so we have to wait and see how they fare. I still have fond memories of having won the 1983 World Cup. It was a remarkable victory. We had many all-rounders in that team who could turn the tables on any opposition. Kapil Dev and Jimmy (Mohinder) Amarnath were the two guys who kept winning games for us with both the bat and ball.
Can anyone forget the 175 not-out by Kapil against Zimbabwe at Tunbridge Wells when we were in dire straits? That knock by Kapil kept us alive in the tournament, which we eventually won by defeating the then-mighty West Indies at Lord’s. During the 2011 World Cup win, too, we had a couple of all-rounders like Yuvraj Singh and Yusuf Pathan in our ranks who made vital contributions with both bat and ball.
In this World Cup, as well, all-rounders will be important and I expect Ravindra Jadeja and Hardik Pandya to deliver for us. The duo have good experience and on a given day, have the ability to win games with either bat or ball. Their contributions will be vital for us in our campaign.
Since I was part of the team in 1983 and also of the senior national selection committee in 2011, people often ask me whether there is a secret formula for winning a World Cup. There is none as such. One needs to play consistently in a long tournament such as the World Cup. Take one match at a time and carry forward the momentum into the tournament. It (success) all depends upon how you handle pressure and play well on a given day. It is a team sport, so each and every individual must contribute in their own way. My best wishes to Team India to win and bring back the World Cup.
(As told to Ashok Venugopal) Srikkanth is a former India captain, who was a part of the 1983 WC-winning team and the chief selector during the 2011 WC triumph-