Virat Kohli is carrying the hopes of the nation into the World Cup, much like Sachin Tendulkar did in his playing days. The latter knows a thing or two about the pressure of playing in World Cups, and said there was ‘no way’ Kohli alone would be able to help India win the trophy.
“I think you will always have a couple of individuals stepping up every game but without team support, you can’t do much. Just because of one individual, you can’t win a tournament. No way. Unless, others chip in at every crucial stage. If that doesn’t happen, there will be disappointment,” Tendulkar told PTI.
“There is a good balance in the side. We have a number of guys with 8-10 years of experience and at the same time we have talented youngsters like Kuldeep (Yadav), (KL) Rahul, Yuzvendra Chahal, Hardik (Pandya) and Jasprit (Bumrah) with a couple of years of international cricket. So it’s a perfect blend with all the makings of a wonderful team. I rate our chances very high.”
Tendulkar, though, said Kuldeep and Chahal remain a threat even when batsmen read them, pointing to the example of Muttiah Muralitharan.
“Let’s understand this. There are a number of bowlers who have been read well by batters but yet they end up getting a lot of wickets. So Kuldeep and Chahal shouldn’t be too worried about Australia series,” he said.
“Agreed the Aussies read them well but does that mean they wouldn’t be committing mistakes or can’t be forced to commit mistakes. Murali basically bowled two deliveries — traditional off-breaks and doosra. It’s not that batsmen never read Murali but he still ended up getting wickets.
