Former Pakistan captain Misbah Ul Haq speaks to the media during his short visit to the Qatari capital.
Former Pakistan captain Misbah Ul Haq has said white ball giants England and India under captain Virat Kohli are favourites to win the 2019 World Cup.
Misbah, who retired from the game two years ago, played 75 Test matches for his country and captained the side at the 2015 World Cup where Pakistan lost in the quarter-finals stage.
“England are the favourites. The most important thing is the way England have been playing cricket in home conditions,” Misbah, 45, said during his short stay in Doha.
“Second favourites are India. They have a powerful team. Their recent performances are good. Their bowling is making the difference,” he added.
Excerpts from a detailed Q&A with Misbah:
Q: Who do you think are the top three favourites at the World Cup?
A: England are the favourites. The most important thing is the way England have been playing cricket in home conditions. The last few series they have played at home, they have hammered sides on their home soil. The way they have batted is great. Their batting depth is greater than other sides. They have top batters and the batting range from these guys is solid. Then they have Jos Buttler as a finisher. They also have Moeen Ali at number 9. Guys like him contribute to the batting these days. There was one deficiency in the English ranks and that was how to play spin with command. Now look at them - they have players who tackle spin with ease. Now they have spinners also - Moeen and Adil Rashid who have performed well. Now England have Jofra Archer and Mark Wood so their pace bowling is also good. All these things give them the edge over their rivals. They understand the ground conditions well. They read the pitches well. They can also handle pressure though handling the pressure of never having won the World Cup is big enough.
Q: Who are the second favourites?
A: Second favourites are India. They have a powerful team. Their recent performances are good. Their bowling is making the difference. They have rich resources in the bowling department. They were not like this before, especially in seam bowling. They have the world’s number one bowler in Jasprit Bumrah. Then they have Bhuvneshwar Kumar who bowls beautifully with a new ball. He does well in death overs. Then there is Mohammed Shami who is a different bowler. In the spin department, they have wrist spinners Kuldip Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja. I would call them wicket-taking spinners. They have this mystery about themselves. India have a balanced side. They know how to win the big events. They know how to play the knockout stages. They have a huge advantage like this.
Q: And the third favourite side?
A: Then there is Australia. They are always a force. A team that has won five World Cup titles can’t be ignored. They have playing members from the 2015 World Cup title in this side also. Steve Smith and David Warner are back. They beat India in India. They beat Pakistan (in the UAE) and then they did well in warm-ups also. That has taken their confidence level high. They are a dangerous side. They handle the pressure well in big events no team does this better than them. These are the points that makes these three countries the favourites.
Q: What about Pakistan’s chances?
A: At the moment, Pakistan is very down mentally. Pakistan needs the spark like they did in the Champions Trophy (in 2017). When they won a match (then), suddenly you got the belief and all your components started to fire. And then you beat all teams. The players became very efficient. Pakistan needs those kind of goods, especially in the first two matches. If they win the first few matches, then their confidence will be revived. Otherwise, if they play like they have been doing so far, then it will be difficult for them to do well. Pakistan played the number one side England in their home conditions. Pakistan did not lose by big margins. Pakistan were close or behind in those games because of their own mistakes. Pakistan did not execute our bowling plans well. Pakistan’s fielding was so poor that even U-13s don’t field like that. If Pakistan can minimise those mistakes, then they can do well. But the good thing is batting has done well in the last two months. If Pakistan improves well in bowling and fielding, then we can go far. Hassan Ali and Shadab Khan should take wickets in the middle overs. Fakhar Zaman will be key in high scoring games, especially when we don’t have power hitters down in the batting order. Also Pakistan needs Babar Azam to fire. The rest will have to bat around him. The team with disciplined bowling will do well.
Q: Do you back a format like we see at the current World Cup?
A: I personally favour this format. I like it. This allows a good team to reach the last four. If you have two bad games and your top team is out of the tournament is not good. Playing against each other will ensure there is a chance for coming back into the event and reaching the semis. The best four will compete in the semi-finals. I like this format. Whoever becomes the world champions, we should know where they stand. This minimises the chance of a fluke run by a team.
Q: What does the future look like for Misbah?
A: I don’t want to take up a PCB job now. They (PCB officials) have been after me. I need to spend time with my family. I haven’t done that since the time I was busy playing. I have missed so many years of their lives. At the moment, I am not thinking about taking up a coaching job. I am, however, doing a coaching course. I am learning that playing and knowing a game is completely different from teaching a game. I know how to go for a late cut. But I need to know how to impart that to youngsters. That’s a different set of skill. That’s what I am doing. The former cricketers should not show ego that they are beyond this kind of learning.
