ICC Cricket World Cup: Former England captain suggests conditions could suit Virat...

ICC Cricket World Cup: Former England captain suggests conditions could suit Virat Kohli’s India

ICC Cricket World Cup: Vaughan is quite right with his assessment as ICC tournaments over the past decade or so have seen pitches which have been dry and assisted spinners.

cricket Updated: Apr 16, 2019 13:10 IST
India cricketer Kuldeep Yadav (2L) celebrates the wicket of Australia cricketer Glenn Maxwell with captain Virat Kohli (L) and teammates during the fourth one-day international (ODI) cricket match between India and Australia at the Punjab Cricket Association Stadium in Mohali on March 10, 2019.(AFP)

You can expect former England captain Michael Vaughan to call a spade a spade anywhere and the Yorkshireman has made a name for himself as a cricket pundit due to his incisive views. Talking about the conditions in England during the ICC World Cup, which begins on May 30, Vaughan had a strong point to make about how it could suit the Asian teams more than giving home advantage to England.

Vaughan wrote on Twitter, “The last 2 champions trophy’s in England have been Won by India & Pakistan ... !!!!! All this talk of English conditions in ICC run events is nonsense ...... The pitches will be dry and Spin will play a huge part”

Vaughan is quite right with his assessment as ICC tournaments over the past decade or so have seen pitches which have been dry and assisted spinners. The last time a 50-over World Cup was held in England was way back in 1999. That was a tournament where pitches suited seam bowling and pacers like Glenn McGrath and New Zealand’s Geoff Allott made merry in helpful conditions.

Keeping the conditions in mind, India have gone in for three specialist spinners in their 15-member squad for the World Cup, which was announced on Monday.

Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal have been two of the most successful bowlers in 50-over cricket over the past couple of years and in Ravindra Jadeja, India have a seasoned tweaker who can adapt to different conditions.

All-rounder Kedar Jadhav could also come in handy in such conditions with his part-time off spin. So, if we are to believe Michael Vaughan, then India could well go all the way this time around.

First Published: Apr 16, 2019 12:54 IST