COLOMBO(Sri Lanka): Sri Lanka’s former legendary cricketer Chaminda Vaas thinks that India do not rely on their star batters Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma as there are many other young players who can be considered as ‘trump card’ for prestigious events like Asia cup and World Cup.
India will first play in Asia Cup starting from August 31 then they will host the ICC Men’s World Cup which will start from October 5.
Chaminda told ANI, “If you talk about the Indian team, not only Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are trump cards, there are so many young cricketers who are trump cards, like Hardik Pandya, Suryakumar Yadav. Yashasvi (Yashasvi Jaiswal) is playing well, Gill is playing well, there are so many bunches of talent in India. Everybody is going to be competitive. When it comes to batting, I think India does not depend on Virat and Rohit all the time, others have also chipped in and if Virat and Rohit perform then mostly the game will be won by India.”
Chaminda who is a bowling coach of the Colombo Strikers team in the Lanka Premier League (LPL), also talked about the significance of Jasprit Bumrah in the team and said if he gets fit then it will be a huge benefit for India in World Cup.
Bumrah who is out of action since September 2022, is in the final stage of rehabilitation.
“It would not be easy but we know that Jasprit Bumrah is one of the best bowlers in the world, the way he had performed, he is a very consistent player. India is really looking to get his services. However, it happens on the rehabilitation and injury as well but I am pretty sure that the trainer and physio working in a team to get him fit. If he gets fit, then it will be a huge benefit for India in World Cup,” the former Sri Lankan cricketer added.
When asked about his favourites in the Asia Cup, Chaminda said, “I am sure that Sri Lanka also looking to defend the title and would be trying to do their best for Asia Cup. When you look into the other teams, Pakistan, Afghanistan, India, and Bangladesh, they all have good players and have been playing really well. I am pretty sure that the team have a different strategy especially playing in Pakistan and Sri Lanka. And they have players according to condition, so every team has an opportunity when it comes to Asia Cup.”
“it is very difficult to predict anything, I always say that the best team will play according to the situation and surface and the balance team have the opportunity to win the world cup and Asia cup.”
According to Chaminda, the team who would score 320 to 350 runs and will also be able to defend would win the World Cup this time held in India.
“We have seen that all the 50 over game goes for 325-350 runs, so whoever can get 320-350 and defend can win the tournament.“ (ANI)