Dec. 9: Over the last couple of years, India have been the strongest performers of the Asian nations and it is no surprise that most of the cricket pundits are betting on them to win next year’s cricket World Cup.
It is difficult to look beyond Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s boys and four World Cup-winning players — Kapil Dev, Vivian Richards, Imran Khan and Arjuna Ranatunga — consider Team India to be the favourites for the 2011 World Cup.
“They are the No.1 in the world (in Tests) and the crowds here can get volatile,” West Indian legend Richards, a member of the 1975 and 1979 world champion squad, told the media in the capital on Thursday.
Former India captain Kapil Dev believes that there are moments that give a team self-belief that they can go all the way. For India, in the famous World Cup triumph, it was the match against Zimbabwe at Tunbridge Wells where Kapil scored an unforgettable 175 not out.
“We recovered from 17/5 to go on and win the match against Zimbabwe. After that win, the self-belief of the boys shot up. The team started believing that they can win from any situation,” Kapil said.
Imran Khan, who led Pakistan to victory in the 1992 World Cup at the age of 39, said: “India are easily the favourites with the depth of talent they have playing in home conditions,” he said. The legends also got nostalgic. Richards spoke about Kapil’s catch to dismiss him that turned the 1983 final around. “I still don’t know from where did he (Kapil) come to take that catch. When Kapil was running back waving to nearest fielder to get out of his way, I knew my time was over,” Richards recollected.
Asked to pick the most dangerous batsman, Richards replied: “Sehwag! There is no doubt about it. He is just so destructive. He is totally fearless.”
“He can be very intimidating and can provide magnificent starts to the team which will play a big role in India's success in the World Cup,” Richards added. Kapil also felt Sachin Tendulkar will be on the international scene for a while. “People say it is his last World Cup but I don’t believe in this. We might see him play the next World Cup also. I feel until and unless he wins the trophy, he won’t go,” he said.