World Cup looks wide open and Kohli has a 'headache'

The World Cup is into the second fortnight to decide who the champions will be from the 16 teams that made the knockout round. For the fourth time in the last five championships, the defending champions have knocked out at

Don't forget, England are no Ireland and they look formidable seein the way they hammered Australia 5-0 in the just-concluded One-Day series. Normally beating England in England, or for that matter any team at home, is difficult. In England, the weather also adds to the problems of the visitors.

Before every tour to England, South Africa and Australia in recent years, it is said the Indians have bowlers to use a green top and the batsmen well-equipped to negotiate the movement of the ball. They take time to get acclimatized, but sometimes it is too late like it happened in the Test series in South Africa.

The Indians complained of poor scheduling on recent tours. They wanted to play the limited-overs matches first in South Africa but had to play the Tests and now it is the other way round, by the time the Test series gets underway the team would had enough time to get the feel of pitch and climatic conditions.

It should be an interesting series in all formats as India will be fighting for the No.1 place in the limited-overs rankings. They are second behind England in the ODIs and behind top-ranked Pakistan in the T-20s. In the Tests, they will be out to maintain their top spot. England are fourth in T-20s and fifth in Tests behind New Zealand.

Kohli also stated that no player from the squad would go back home as a tourist, not playing any match. A lofty thought from the captain! 

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Veturi Srivatsa/IANS