The Indian side is all set to go to England after the IPL ended yesterday night. The squad for the World Cup was picked almost a month ago. Though India has picked the best 15 they could, they are no longer the firm favourites in the upcoming World Cup which is going to be wide open due to the changed format is what Jonty Rhodes feels.
The World Cup is going to be played in a Round Robin format. According to this format, each team will go up against all the other teams once, to find a spot in the top four. This is unlike the previous format of two groups. Rhodes feels that the Virat Kohli led Indian team has good balance, however that is not something that the other teams lack.
“India has got a lot of experience too. Even young players like (Jasprit) 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, top six,” said Rhodes. However, Rhodes hasn’t included the West Indies here who are playing some beautiful ODI cricket from the past couple of months.
Jonty also said that the contributions of Hardik Pandya might be very vital for the Indian team. But he will have to adapt quickly to the longer format of white-ball cricket. According to the South-African, in a 20-over game, you can play just 7 balls and bowl 2 overs to make a difference. But, in a 50-over game, you need to bat for around 35 overs to make that difference. However, he feels that Pandya has that temperament.
Rhodes was the fielding coach of the IPL team Mumbai Indians for a long time, and hence, he knows what Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya are capable of.
