Former England skipper Nasser Hussain has said that India could be defeated by any teams at the T20 World Cup since the team had no Plan B.
“Speaking to Sky Sports, Hussain said, “They are favourites. I wouldn’t say clear favourites simply because of the format. The shorter the game, things can happen. You only have look at the last final. England four balls away from winning and…T20, the shorter the game, an individual brilliance of 70 or 80 or three deliveries suddenly changes the other away around. So anyone could upset India in any knockout game.”
Hussain added that India’s record in the recent ICC tournaments wasn’t anything to write home about. He said that India simply could not afford any mistakes in the knockout stage given the pressure of over one billion fans back in the country.
The former English skipper said that Team India lacked Plan B. “When they get to a stage – you look at the last World Cup against New Zealand – and suddenly it’s a low-scoring game and they don’t have a Plan B, they got rolled over a very good New Zealand side. So that’s going to be an issue for them,” Hussain added.
The former England batsman also highlighted how the current Indian team had some of the greatest white ball cricketers but a lot would depend on how they perform in the knockout stage and handle expectations from the fans back home.
“They are well led by Virat Kohli. They have a mentor on the sideline in MS Dhoni. So you would think they would be absolute favourites. But you just never know in this format,” Hussain said.
India would play their arch-rival Pakistan in their opening T20 World Cup encounter on 24 October. The match would be played Dubai International Stadium. Kohli has already announced that he would step down from the captain’s post after the World Cup.