Not going to judge Indian cricket team on just two losses in WI: Mohammad Kaif

Former Indian cricketer Mohammad Kaif expressed belief that the Indian team has the capability to win the ODI World Cup 2023 at home and said its performance and preparedness should not be judged on the basis of two T20I losses in the West IndiesIndia after winning the twomatch Test series and the threematch ODI series in the Caribbean are trailing 02 in the fivematch T20I series leading to criticism over the sides preparations ahead of two major competitions this year the Asia Cup in Pakistan and Sri Lanka and the ODI World Cup at homeHowever Kaif said at a function here that the fears of India underperforming in the World Cup were unfounded However he indicated that pace bowler Jasprit Bumrah will have to be fully fit to increase the hostsrsquo chance of ending the title droughtIndia has lost just two matches T20Is against West Indies so we do not need to get overly concerned I am seeing a lot of negative reaction after the two losses But I will only say that our team is extremely competitiveI am not going to judge India on two backtoback losses in the West Indies The only thing is that key players are missingBumrah missing is the biggest factor If he recovers fully one aspect is to complete the recovery and the other aspect is to gain match fitness If he regains that match fitness it will be a massive gain for Team IndiaIf Bumrah is fully fit we have a great chance of winning the World Cup at home said KaifBumrah will be staging a comeback during the T20 series against Ireland after being out of action for almost a year following a back surgery and Kaif attributed the 29yearold pacers absence for Indias string of losses in major competitions during that periodA lot of people are discussing that the India team under chief coach Rahul Dravid lost the T20 Asia Cup last year the T20 World Cup in Australia the World Test Championship in England recentlyI understand all that mistakes have happened But I think it is not easy to play with Bumrah not in the side He is the biggest matchwinner and Rohit Sharma didnt get his services so think about all thatI believe as soon as Bumrah returns fully fit he wins 50 per cent of the matches for the Indian team I think if Bumrah is in the team and a few others like KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer also return we have the players who can win the World Cup trophy added KaifNew players will have to waitWith youngsters like Yashasvi Jaiswal giving impressive performances in the series against the West Indies there has been talk about them being considered for the World Cup in India but Kaif felt when the likes of Bumrah Iyer Rahul return to the side even someone like Mohammed Siraj might not find a place in the Playing XIShreyas Iyer is injured KL Rahul is recovering I hope they will all return to the side in time for the World Cup So all this talk about new players coming into the side for the World Cup they will not get a chance in the team Your Team Indias XI is all set averred KaifIyer when he returns will play at No 4 You have Shubman Gill and skipper Rohit Sharma as openers at No 3 you have Virat Kohli at No 4 you have Shreyas Iyer at No 5 you have KL RahulHardik Pandya at 6 Ravindra Jadeja at No7 Axar Patel or Shardul Thakur will play at No8 depending on the condition of the pitch At No9 you will have Kuldeep Yadav he has a good ODI record and at No 10 and 11 you will have the two fast bowlers Mohammed Shami and BumrahEven Siraj might not find a place in the XI So when it will be difficult to accommodate Siraj then the new players we are talking about they might not get the opportunity in this World Cup said KaifAlso Read ODI World Cup 2023 calling is Team India really readyKaif added that his logic was based on the fact that seniors will get the first opportunity to be in the squad and players like Sanju Samson Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav will get a lookin ahead of some new facesIf at all there will be someone in the squad it would be Sanju Samson Ishan Kishan Suryakumar Yadav because they have been playing for many yearsThe new faces people are talking about are only for this West Indies tour When the Asia Cup and the World Cup are played then only the seniormost players will playWith PTI inputs