‘India one of the favourites’ for World Cup’

NEW DELHI: India will start the ICC World Cup 2019 as favourites, says Rahul Dravid. The India A coach believes India are playing “very good cricket” at the moment, and hoped they could peak at the right moment.

Speaking to journalists during India A’s ongoing home series against England Lions, Dravid said he expected the pitches in England to be flat and unlike those he experienced during the World Cup 1999.

“The wickets will be very different compared to 1999, they’ve become very flat,” Dravid said. “I expect it to be a very high-scoring World Cup. We went with India A last year, and 300 was regularly scored, so it’ll be a lot more high-scoring than 1999. We used the Duke’s ball then, now it’s Kookaburra... plus two new balls and field restrictions are there, so we can’t compare the World Cups.

“But India are playing very good cricket and definitely go in as one of the favourites. Hopefully, the boys can peak over the next few months.”KL Rahul has struggled for form over recent months, but Dravid believed the opener’s ability would help him bounce back. In his last 12 innings, Rahul has gone past fifty just once and has scored only 55 runs in three 50-over games for India A against England Lions.“I have no doubt that Rahul has quality and ability,” Dravid said. “He’s one player who has hundreds in T20Is, Tests and ODIs.”