If India does not have R Ashwin in the World Cup, teams will turn their attention to Kuldeep Yadav: Arjuna Ranatunga

If India does not have R Ashwin in the World Cup

The illustrious Sri Lankan captain of the world championship-winning squad in 1996 reveals why he chooses to seed New Zealand ahead of Pakistan for the semifinal match.

India will undoubtedly have a significant edge in the world cup, but they will suffer the most from playing in front of their own supporters. In addition to the competition, the Indian team will face a lot of pressure from the spectators in India.

The crew they have is excellent. If you want to win the championship at home, you need one or two excellent all-arounders and two excellent spinners. However, I’m not sure if India has two quality spinners. They have good all-arounders who also happen to be spinners, but this team doesn’t appear to have a true spinner. They require a potent squad of spinners on Indian pitches. If not, India would suffer as a result.

Of course, there is Kuldeep Yadav, who proved at the Asia Cup against Pakistan and Sri Lanka that he has the ability to win games. From what I can tell, he is pretty shrewd, particularly when it comes to manipulating the variations. However, as teams will want to target him and unnerve him, you need one more person to back him who can contain and attack.

Especially when playing against England, Australia, South Africa, and New Zealand, you may occasionally need to field three spinners without disrupting the team’s balance. India also lacks a bowling-capable batter. Jadeja bats at No. 7 and bowls.

England and Pakistan both have competent spinners. India will undoubtedly address that before the World Cup, I’m convinced of it. They are more interested in all-rounders like Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel, but in my opinion, they ought to include R Ashwin in the team, if not the starting lineup. He can help you win games when he plays. You need men in the subcontinent who can contain and take wickets, even if he is a little older and a little slow on the field. Most teams that want to win games do it by taking wickets, and to accomplish so you need to have a well-rounded, balanced assault.

They would be considered strong favorites if Anil Kumble were on that team, but their spinners present a challenge. They must be considering it, I’m certain. Even if they may have a different opinion, in my opinion Ashwin need to play because the attack would be lacking without an off-spinner. The foundation of their batting order is made up of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and KL Rahul.

Aravinda, who bats at No. 4 and takes wickets in the middle overs, would be on my team. In this Indian team, I don’t see anyone like that. You previously had Virender Sehwag, a highly skilled off-spinner. However, this team lacked Sachin Tendulkar. In large tournaments where you need to keep an eye on the balance of your squad, top order batsmen who can’t bowl might be a major disadvantage. Jadeja is batting at No. 7 and is a legitimate all-rounder, but in my opinion, he is not a top-order batter. There is a competition taking place in the subcontinent, thus you need bowlers who can bat and batsmen who can bowl. That is what India currently lacks.

India will succeed, largely due to their fast bowling attack. The fact that Mohammed Shami chose not to participate (in Asia Cup games) demonstrates the caliber of their roster. India possesses one of the strongest fast bowling attacks, in my opinion.

The key to winning a World Cup is planning. Take the World Cup in 1996. We had been preparing for the World Cup for around two to three years by the time it arrived. Therefore, we formed a team and determined who we ought to face, particularly in Asia. And among the players we found, we chose those who would give us their all. If you exclude Aravinda de Silva from the 1996 side, everyone else was a rising star eager to shine.

In fact, Chaminda Vass, Muttiah Muralidharan, and Sanath Jayasuriya were all quite inexperienced. However, because of their commitment to the nation, they were more focused on contributing to and winning games than on their own personal interests. After that, we continued to field a very strong team until 1999, when we suffered through a disastrous World Cup. We had a proper team again by the time Sanath took over because you have roughly five players who could take my place. There was therefore no vacuum. Building a team and passing it on to the next player are the two main goals. Pass it to the other even if you win the World Cup.

Since the conditions vary from site to venue, the World Cup in India is a whole different scenario. In such circumstances, every team from the sub-continent has a chance to win every game. Even Afghanistan and Bangladesh have the ability to succeed.

Sri Lanka must get to the semifinals, my heart insists. With the quality on this team, we can surprise some of the top nations if we choose the proper players and support them. Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan round out the list of teams since they are the most unpredictable. They are erratic and can irritate anyone at any time.

When it comes to the last four, I’ll predict that England will advance to the semifinals as a result of Ben Stokes joining the squad. New Zealand will feel even stronger with Kane Williamson back, and in World Cups, you can never look past them. India is also in the semifinals, despite a few small concerns with their spinners, because they are the most familiar with the conditions. Australia will also play because they appear to be performing well lately. I think these are the four teams that can be reliable. They can still win two matches even if they lose one. This World Cup is going to be fiercely contested.