India would've been 100 per cent prepared for CWC '23 had Kohli remained captain, feels ex-Pak captain
'India would've been 100 % prepared for CWC '23 had Virat Kohli...' Rashid Latif.
Former Pakistan skipper Rashid Latif feels Team India would have been 100 per cent prepared for the 2023 ODI World Cup, to be held in India in October-November, had Virat Kohli remained the captain. Kohli was sacked as the ODI captain in late 2021, just a few months after he stepped down as the T20I skipper ahead of the 2021 T20 World Cup in the UAE.
At that time, the BCCI made it clear that it does not want two captains indifferent white-ball formats. Hence, Rohit took over as the white-ball skipper and soon became the full-time captain in early 2022, post Kohli's resignation as the Test skipper.
Since then, India have not had great success across formats. They fell flat in the Asia Cup, held in the T20I format, in 2022 and also bowed out of the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup last year, held in Australia.
Towards the end of the year, India lost the ODIs to hosts Bangladesh, conceded a home 50-over series to Australia early this year, came second in the WTC final and also lost the five T20I series to West Indies, held in West Indies and USA.
Injuries have plagued India's run as they still await the fitness reports of KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer ahead of the Asia Cup, which kicks off later this month.
Thus, the Rohit Sharma-Rahul Dravid-led Indian team had lots on their plate ahead of the ODI World Cup at home, in October-November.
In this regard, Latif spoke at length about India's current struggles and believes things would have been different, had Kohli remained the captain.
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'India would have been 100% prepared for CWC '23 had Kohli remained captain'
“If they had allowed Virat Kohli to continue as captain, India would have been 100 per cent prepared for the World Cup by this time,” Latif said on his official YouTube channel.
"Indian team management has experimented with several players and if I talk about their batting, the middle and lower order — from numbers 4 to 7 — they just have not allowed any new player to settle down. There have been too many changes," he further asserted.
The former Pakistani wicketkeeper-batter added that dependence on injured seniors such as Rahul and Iyer might be risky for Team India, heading into the Asia Cup and CWC '23. Latif added, "I would say it is risky because KL and Iyer are returning from injuries."
At present, Jasprit Bumrah is leading a second-stringed Indian team in Ireland for three T20Is in Dublin, starting on Friday (August 18). However, the main focus is already on the Asia Cup, which commences on August 30. Soon after the continental tournament, the ODI World Cup will kick off in Indiaon October 05.
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