Krishnamachari Srikkanth, a former captain and chief selector of India, has insisted nothing much should be read into India’s loss at the hands of England on Sunday.
“Just treat it as a one-off, surely teams cannot be winning every single match. It’s no cause for worry and the team must ignore anything being said, written or tweeted...
“England had a plan and they went for our two wrist spinners (Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav), taking them out of the equation,” Srikkanth told The Telegraph at the Hyatt Regency on Monday evening.
A member of the 1983 World Cup-winning XI, Srikkanth is a Brand Ambassador for the ongoing edition.
“I got invited for three matches involving India and I return home after the one against Bangladesh,” Srikkanth said.
Looking ahead to Tuesday’s match, Srikkanth commented: “The toss, I feel, will again be vital. The captain who wins it and decides to bat would begin with an advantage...
“However, winning the toss alone doesn’t guarantee anything...
“Bangladesh have much more to lose and India should play their normal game. That, in my book, is the best approach. In any case, India are the better team.”
Requested to pick the players who have stood out in this World Cup, Srikkanth obliged.
Here’s goes Srikkanth’s Top Six (alphabetically)...
- JASPRIT BUMRAH/ India: Keeps making such a difference. Has the capability to take wickets in the middle overs. Bumrah, clearly, is the go-to man for his captain. The best way to restrict any opposition is to pick wickets and Bumrah is adept in all roles.
- SHAKIB-AL HASAN/ Bangladesh: Top performer who has taken Bangladesh to the position they are in — still in contention for the semi-final stage... Shakib has embraced responsibility so admirably. Bangladesh could hardly have asked for more from him.
- VIRAT KOHLI/India: Virat has been the finest captain in the World Cup, excellent with the bowling changes and field placements... He has impressed as a batsman too, consistent right through. That has got reflected in five 50-plus innings in the last five matches. Virat plays such authentic cricket shots.
- ROHIT SHARMA/ India: Rohit has grown into an amazing opener. What I like most is his ability to shift gears so smoothly. Once he’s past 25-30, then God help the opposition. Rohit has already got three hundreds in this edition and all against good teams (South Africa, Pakistan, England).
- MITCHELL STARC/ Australia: There are fast bowlers and there is Starc... He’s Australia’s trump card and has reduced Pat Cummins to a support bowler. It’s no surprise that Starc is the No.1 bowler with 24 wickets. He gets the ball to swing and bowls very good cutters too. Captain Aaron Finch must be delighted to have him around.
- BEN STOKES/England: England have had ups and downs, but just look at the way Stokes has performed... With the bat, ball and in the field. He’s a game-changer and, let me remind you, game-changers help win a World Cup... Even on Sunday, Stokes played such a defining innings against India.
Finally, special mention of...
Babar Azam and Mohammed Aamir for Pakistan, New Zealand’s Lockie Ferguson and Finch. There have been others as well.
Postscript: After years, Srikkanth bumped into former India pacer Rajinder Singh Ghai, who has been in the US from the early 1990s. The 59-year-olds hugged each other in the hotel’s porch, with Srikkanth recalling they first played together, for India U-19s, in the late 1970s.