Pakistan chance in World Cup depends on batting, says Richards

KARACHI: One of the greatest cricketers of the last century Sir Viv Richards believes if the batsmen are able to perform Pakistan has the chance to win the ICC World Cup which would be staged in England next summer.

“They have the talent. I find that the bowling unit of Pakistan is very good. If the batsmen can perform to the best of their abilities then I believe Pakistan has the chance as good as any,” Richards told ‘The News’ in an exclusive interview here on Monday.

Richards is in Karachi, working with the Pakistan Super League (PSL) franchise Quetta Gladiators as mentor.When asked that since winning the Champions Trophy in England, Pakistan’s performance in one-day cricket has been inconsistent the former West Indies skipper said: “Before they won the Champions Trophy they were inconsistent as well. It goes to show you that till the time if these guys play together as a unit they can deliver,” Richards said. He said that four to five teams had chance of winning the World Cup. “I believe all the teams who would play, especially, when you take some examples from the Champions Trophy in England, so India I think have been successful over the year,” he said. “Pakistan came and showed promise and beat some of the best teams in the world. So there are a lot of teams. West Indies started to show some good promise. England always have a good one-day team but I am not quite sure whether or not in England they have the capability of trying to win at home. They always have a good team but they never came to the finish line due to certain reasons,” said Richards, who has scored 8540 runs in 121 Tests.

“Australia are a unit and must be respected. New Zealand could be a dark horse. There are lot of teams, about four or five who have the capability to win,” said Richards, who led the West Indies in 50 Tests of whom he won 27 and lost just eight. To a query whether emerging Afghanistan could pull off an upset Richards said: “They have got some very good bowlers. They have some opportunities.

They have Nabi and leggie Rashid Khan. They have got good enough cricketers and what I think is most important that these high-profile guys are spreading the word of the game and that is the most important for Afghanistan itself to be part of the global event,” the 67-year old said.

Richards also backed the decision of Pakistan’s selectors to rest their top six players including skipper Sarfraz Ahmed for the country’s five-match One-day Series against Australia in the UAE later this month. “When you look at the commitment of Pakistani players over the years they have not been able to play at home.

And it is important that sometimes boys can be burnt out. If you look at the bigger picture it would certainly be World Cup and you think that your best players need some rest, then why not. And if you can have them feel refreshed and certainly that is not a bad idea in my opinion to rest them,” Richards said.

Richards said that PSL had been contributing in Pakistan’s cricket growth. “PSL is a very good tournament and highly competitive. It attracts some of the best players from around the world. And to me having all these players around some players who to my opinion are fully experienced who have played in the IPL and Big Bash.