'Preparations start from here, no time for experiments': Mohammad Kaif on 2023 World Cup

India’s quest for an ICC trophy got longer when they fell short in the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup. Rohit Sharma-captained India were beaten by England in a one-sided contest in the last-four.

Now, focus has already shifted to the ODI World Cup, to be held next year, in India. With that in mind, one aspect that is being keenly observed is the team selection.

To make it an even more challenging task, the Chetan Sharma-led selection committee was sacked, and a new body is yet to be appointed. They will have the onus to select a group of 15-20 players who can end India’s nine year ICC trophy drought.

But before that happens, former India cricketer Mohammad Kaif has asked for players to be backed and patience from the think tank.

“Why is Bhuvneshwar Kumar not in the squad, I have no clue. He’s a good bowler, but not part of the squad. In the search for new players, we are losing out on the old ones. There’s a saying: in search of diamonds, we lost the gold,” Kaif said on Amazon Prime Video.

“You had good players in the squad so this shouldn’t be the case. If you’re backing someone, please do it nicely. The preparation starts from here, there’s no time for experiments. The months will pass, and suddenly you’ll find yourself approaching the World Cup. So, you decide on the players and keep backing them,” he added.

Kaif urged for Umran Malik to be backed especially after omission from the T20 World Cup.

“Umran Malik, the extra pace that we often talk about, (Jasprit) Bumrah got injured at the T20 World Cup, there was no one with that kind of pace. The three pacers – Arshdeep (Singh), Bhuvneshwar Kumar, and (Mohammed) Shami all three of them bowl nearly at the same pace. In the World Cup, we missed someone, who can bowl 145 cases per hour. Someone like Umran Malik, definitely, back him from here on,” Kaif concluded.

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