India and Pakistan will struggle to match other teams’ ability in ODI World Cup: Rashid Latif

“England, Australia and New Zealand batsmen have turned the reverse sweep and alternating shots against the spinners into something very lethal these days.” He also noted that England in particular were also very adept at using their spinners in the middle overs.

“A bowler like Adil Rashid or someone like Moeen Ali buys their wickets, while our spinners focus more on economical bowling. This will be one of the most closely contested World Cups and I don’t see the Asian teams having any extra advantage because it is being held in India.” Latif, who played in the 1996 and 2003 World Cups, also noted that India struggled in selection and lost the recent T20 series in the West Indies because they did not allow the young players to settle in properly.

“The Indian team management has experimented with quite a few players and if I am talking about the middle and lower order batting, say 4 to 7, they just haven’t allowed any new player to settle down with frequent changes.” Rashid said that though dangerous, India will now have to depend only on the seniors in the World Cup.

“I say it’s risky because KL and Iyer are coming back from injuries.” Rashid had no doubt that handing over the captaincy to many contenders over the past two years had not helped the Indian team.

“If they had allowed Virat Kohli to continue as captain, India would have been 100% ready for the World Cup by now.” Rashid also felt that Pakistan should also use Fakhar Zaman as an opener and ensure that the batsmen make full use of the middle overs.

He said the 50-over format was probably the most difficult format now and teams needed one or two batsmen who could hook one end and guide other batters through the innings.

Rashid said Ben Stokes’ return to the England squad makes them a much more balanced and stronger outfit now at the World Cup.

Talking about his experience of playing for India in the 1996 World Cup, he said it was only a quarter-final match in Bangalore, but it was one of the most high-pressure games he had played in his career.

“By the 5th, my throat was dry from the pressure and nerves and there was so much noise from the crowd that you couldn’t even hear the point and gorges or get your voice across to them.” The former captain also praised the current Pakistan team for restoring the trust of cricket fans and people in the national team after the number of fixing and corruption scandals that dogged Pakistan cricket in the 90s and 2000s.

“People put their trust in these players in every way and this is their legacy of restoring trust. Unfortunately, in the 90s, even though we had some great players, the confidence factor was an issue.”