(ICC) The 13th edition of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup is just hours away and the 10 captains that will lead their sides into battle have contrasting thoughts as they prepare for the six-week tournament in India.
The 10 skippers, who will battle it out for the prestigious title over the next 48 days, gathered at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad yesterday for an interactive panel session alongside India great Ravi Shastri and England’s World Cup-winning skipper Eoin Morgan.
India skipper Rohit Sharma was confident that the tournament would be a massive success, given the great support that cricket enjoys in the country. He also stated that winning the World Cup was a childhood dream.
“I have said it from the start, you know, every leader sitting here wants to achieve something really special for their country. It is something that is very highly prized; the 50-Over World Cup is something that I have always dreamt of growing up as a child, and I am sure it is the same for all the guys sitting here as well,” Rohit said.
“One thing I can assure, which I am pretty sure everyone knows, is that people are going to love this tournament here; the stadium is going to be jam-packed because people here in India love their cricket as much as they love their team, but they love their cricket as well. But rest assured, it’s going to be a great tournament.”
Pat Cummins, the captain of the five-time Cricket World Cup champions Australia, was enthusiastic about the much-awaited clash between India and Pakistan that is scheduled for 14 October in Ahmedabad.
“I don’t think there are too many events around the world where you feel like half the world’s tuning in to watch,” he said.
“Whenever India play Pakistan in a World Cup, it seems like one of those moments.
“So, although you’re personally not involved, you feel like you want to watch it and hear about all the commentary and the passion around the game. So, it’s going to be great that it’s at this stadium. You can have over 100,000 people.”
Pakistan captain Babar Azam loved the hospitable nature of his hosts, and was hoping that fans all across the world enjoy the high standard of cricket expected at the tournament.
“We received good hospitality. We were not expecting this. But I think the way people responded to us, everyone enjoyed it. We are here for a week in Hyderabad, so we do not feel like we are in India; it was like we are at home,” Babar noted. “We enjoyed and had a lot of fun. It’s good, and I think it’s a golden opportunity for everyone to give 100 percent and enjoy the tournament.”
Jos Buttler, captain of the defending champions England, said his team will continue to play the attacking cricket that helped them claim their first World Cup title at home in 2019.
“The team’s been mainly together for a long time since 2015, since the start of that sort of revolution that you mentioned, and I think you said right through the game. Now in England, young players coming through play a certain way and are determined to carry on the style, and I think we know it gives us the best chance of success,” Buttler said.
“We will get it wrong at times, but we’ve made peace with that, and it’s something we want to continue to strive to do, to keep pushing the boundaries. Other teams will push you and move it on further, so we always want to try and be at the head of that curve as well.”
