Compared to your playing days, cricket has changed a lot. Now even 350 runs are quite usual in ODIs. Your thoughts on that?
Modern cricket is now excellent. All the players, young batters out there have enormous talent. There is good contest. As you said, the par score is a lot higher these days than it used to be. It’s quite exciting. It’s really good to watch.
In your era, bowlers and batsmen were equally dominating, now batsmen are dominating. Do you think it’s sort of an injustice to the bowlers?
I think the bowlers have developed their own skills these days. They have to learn and apply so much variations. On their day they got a job to do. One-day cricket nowadays is played on flat pitches and there are a lot of high scores. But the best bowlers are still going strong and doing the best job for their respective countries.
Who are the favorites in this World Cup?
I think it’s one of the most open World Cups in recent times. The long format allows a player to go through and get settled in. Quite a few sides have a fair chance.
Many concepts have come. After T20, 100-ball cricket is on the horizon. Do you think the 50-over format will survive?
I think it’s still going strong at the moment. I think we have to evolve the game. We have to increase the audience. We have to expand cricket in different countries to promote cricket among them. And sometimes we have to be adaptable to what might suit with that particular culture to introduce the game. So I am quite open for any format, which might help the game of cricket grow even further, and become worldwide.
With that win over West Indies, India have climbed to No. 2️⃣ on the #CWC19 standings.
— Cricket World Cup (@cricketworldcup) June 27, 2019
Give us your semifinalists:
1. _________
2. _________
3. _________
4. _________#WIvIND pic.twitter.com/a34QdvA4Hw
Australia have bounced back after a turbulent year. How do you rate Australia’s chances?
I think they are not clear favorite. There are quite a few strong teams. Australia have a chance to go into the last part of the tournament.
What’s the secret behind Australia’s huge success in the World Cup?
Australian people love sport. Public are very strong supporters of the sport. Not only cricket, but other games as well. They want Australia to win and play well. And they also appreciate good competitive cricket. So as a nation we like to be competitive. And we like to perform our best in every possible way.
Domestic cricket is strong in Australia for a long period of time. The Sheffield Shield, the way it’s being played, is very competitive. It allows young players to develop their skills and knowledge about the game very strongly, which eventually prepares them to become a Test cricketer of the country.
Who is the best ever captain of Australia – Allan Border, Steve Waugh or Ricky Ponting?
It’s a difficult question (smiles). All three of them are excellent captains. I have played majority of my cricketing career under Border. So I think he’s the godfather of the other two.
Best bowler you have ever faced?
It’s another difficult question. I have played in an era where there are many great fast bowlers. And there were some quality spin bowlers as well. But from all-round point of view, I think Malcolm Marshall was probably the best. He had the ability to use the ball very well. He was a great fast bowler. But that does not take away from the many others who were playing at same era.