Sports
India have good chance of retaining World Cup: Gary Kirsten (Interview)
By
Sandip SikdarNew Delhi, Feb 17
Former India coach Gary
Kirsten exuded confidence in the defending champions, asserting that
they have what it takes to retain the cricket World Cup crown.
"They
can retain the title. Absolutely! Everyone seems to write off India but
that is a very dangerous thing to do because they know how to play
knockout games. They did incredibly well in 2011 and they have a good
reference point there," Kirsten, who guided India to their second World
Cup crown at home four years ago, told IANS in an interview.
"They
have got a serious batting line-up. (Virat) Kohli, (Suresh) Raina,
(Mahendra Singh) Dhoni are World Cup winners and know what to do in
these situations. Then you have some real young talent around. Don't
discount them, they know what they are doing."
But how will India
hold on to the prized title with an inexperienced and depleted bowling
attack? Pace spearhead Ishant Sharma is out of the tournament with an
injury and there is a big question mark over the fitness of swing-bowler
Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
Also, considering the inexperience of medium
pacers Mohit Sharma and Stuart Binny, there will be pressure on spinners
Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja to perform. But how much the
conditions in Australia and New Zealand will suit the tweakers is
another question.
"Every team has areas which will be exploited
by the opposition. You have to manage that. In the 2011 World Cup there
were games where India didn't bat well or bowl well. But we were able to
win games by doing something right," said the South African, who played
101 Tests and 185 One-Day Internationals (ODI) in an international
career ranging from 1993 to 2004.
"It is how well they limit the
damage. Just stick to what you can do and don't try and be something
that you are not. This team has had good success. They won the 2013
Champions Trophy. They built a new squad together with a lot of young
players doing really well."
Questioned about his favourites for
the ongoing 11th edition of the mega event, the former left-handed
batsman said Australia, South Africa, India and New Zealand have a good
chance of lifting the trophy.
"World Cups are always open-ended
but this time Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and India are kind of
the top-four. Also, you can never discount Pakistan. It is difficult to
predict in World Cups," said the 47-year-old, who holds the record for
the highest individual score in a World Cup game when he scored an
unbeaten 188 against the United Arab Emirates in 1996.
"Australia,
India and South Africa have been in top-three for the last couple of
years while New Zealand have come really good before this World Cup.
They will play most of the games at home which will be a big factor. All
these teams are in form."
(Sandip Sikdar can be contacted at [email protected])