“If they had allowed Virat Kohli to continue as captain, India would have been 100 percent ready for the World Cup” - Former Pakistan captain

Former Pakistan captain Rashid Latif has opined that if India had allowed Virat Kohli to continue as captain, the hosts would have been 100 percent ready for the 2023 ODI World Cup by now. Latif also claimed that over-experimentation with the batting has hurt India’s cause as players have not been able to settle into their respective roles.

Kohli was sacked as ODI captain following his decision to quit T20I captaincy after the 2021 T20 World Cup in the UAE. He was replaced by Rohit Sharma as the selection committee was keen on having one captain for both white-ball formats.

In an interview with the Cricket Baaz Youtube channel, Latif commented:

“If they had allowed Virat Kohli to continue as captain, India would have been 100 percent ready for the World Cup by this time.”

The 54-year-old former keeper-batter went on to add that since India do not have a settled middle order, they would have to depend on senior players, but pointed out that two of them, KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer, will be returning from injuries

“Indian team management has experimented with several players and if I talk about their batting the middle and lower order say from 4 to 7 they just have not allowed any new player to settle down with frequent changes. I say risky because KL and Iyer are returning from injuries,” Latif added.

Both Rahul and Shreyas have been recuperating at the National Cricket Academy (NCA). There is still no clarity over whether the duo will be available for the upcoming Asia Cup 2023.

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Rashid Latif on the one area he feels Asian teams will struggle in during World Cup 2023

During the interview, Latif also opined that Asian teams like India and Pakistan will find it hard to match the power-hitting skills of more versatile sides like England, Australia, and New Zealand in the ODI World Cup.

“The one area where I feel Asian teams will struggle to match these sides are particularly in the middle overs when a fast strike rate is required even in 50-overs. The English, Australian and New Zealand batters have turned to reverse sweep and switch shots against the spinners into something very lethal nowadays,” Latif explained.

He also stated that while England spinners like Adil Rashid or Moeen Ali are wicket-taking bowlers, Asian sides are focusing more on economy.

“A bowler like Adil Rashid or someone like Moeen Ali buy their wickets whereas our spinners focus more on economical bowling. This will be one of the most closely contested World Cups and I don’t see Asian teams getting any extra edge because it is being held in India,” he added.

The 2023 ODI World Cup will be played from October 5 to November 19. The tournament will kick off with a rematch of the 2019 final between England and New Zealand in Ahmedabad.