NEW DELHI: Kapil Dev and Sir Vivian Richards feel that India are run-away favourites to win next year's ICC Cricket World Cup, but Imran Khan and Arjuna Ranatunga added a note of caution about their ability to soak in the pressure of playing at home.
That, in a nutshell, was how the former captains and legends in their own rights felt about how things will pan out in a couple of months' time as the marquee event starts on February 19.
"They are the No. 1 in the world (in Test matches) and have a volatile crowd behind them. They have something to defend. The team is going to South Africa where pitches will be different but it can prove to be helpful as they prepare for the World Cup," legendary West Indian batsman Richards, who was the member of the 1975 and 1979 World Cup winning squad, said.
'King Richards', however, wasn't too sure about how West Indies will perform although he admitted that the likes of Chris Gayle, Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard do have the talent to go the distance.
"Some prayer would obviously help," he said in lighter vein. "On a serious note, they do have the talent but they need to get things organised a bit. May be they need a catalyst who could inspire them like Arjuna did with the Sri Lankan team
"Kapil, Richards, Imran back India but Ranatunga bats for Lanka"
- http://cricket.yahoo.com/cricket/news/article?id=item/2.0/-/story/cricket.yahoonews.com/kapil-richards-imran-back-india-but-ranatunga-bats-lanka-20101209/ (view on Google Sidewiki)
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