Irfan Pathan Laments India's Poor Planning For Their 2019 World Cup Loss

Former Indian bowling all-rounder Irfan Pathan has opened up on India’s campaign in the 2019 World Cup that ended in a semi-final loss to New Zealand. Irfan Pathan’s opinions come one day after Gautam Gambhir acknowledged the current side’s inability to handle pressure in knockout games. For the last few years, the men in blue have ended one or two steps short of an ICC title, having last won in 2013.

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Virat Kohli’s men’s campaign began very promisingly, beating South Africa and the defending champions Australia convincingly in first two games. They ended the group stage as table-toppers, enduring just the one loss to the eventual champions, England. It all came crashing down against the Kiwis in the semi-final when India lost a low-scoring contest by 18 runs.

As far as Irfan Pathan is concerned, the national team lacked proper planning for the tournament. The Baroda cricketer claimed that India had everything beginning from resources, coaching staff, and fit players except for an appropriate number four batsman. The men in blue handed out opportunities to KL Rahul, Vijay Shankar, Rishabh Pant, and Ambati Rayudu before the showpiece event. However, none of them could solidify the spot.

“If you look at the recent 2019 tournament, it was bad planning, I think the team can do better planning. Look, we have resources, we have players, we have fitness, we have everything to be a world champion. The only thing lacking is that we did not have a No.4 batsman just before the World Cup as well.” Pathan said as quoted by Hindustan Times.

If we have better planning, we have all the resources to be a champion: Irfan Pathan

According to Irfan Pathan, it all boils down to proper planning. He asserted that India are struggling to bring together a correct playing eleven and better preparation before heading to ICC competitions would help them lift the trophy.

“We were struggling with having a proper eleven. I think we need to make sure that we have better planning going into the ICC trophies, going into the World Cup. If we have better planning, we have all the resources to be a champion.” the 35-year-old Irfan added.

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