BENGALURU: While the focus is on the role of spinners at the World Cup starting later this week, spin legend Muttiah Muralitharan believes the conditions and ability to adapt to it will be the game changer.
"You can't talk about the role of spinners only," he said. "If there is dew, then the fast bowlers will call the shots. It is difficult to predict the role of different bowlers before the start of a tournament because it depends on the type of wickets that are prepared. Also, will the wickets hold for the duration of the tournament? If it crumbles, then it's a spinner game, and if the wicket is firm then the batters will call the shots."
Muralitharan, who was in the city to promote his biopic on Sunday, picked India as his favourite to win the World Cup. "India has a better chance than any other team because of the conditions. Also, they are a good side, and the fan support will be a morale booster. Also, England are playing well, and Australia always do well in World Cups. And then there are the dark horses like Sri Lanka, South Africa, New Zealand, and Pakistan," he pointed out.
The maestro with 534 wickets in One-Dayers and 800 Test scalps, outlined unity as the key ingredient for a team's success. He cited Sri Lanka's success in 1996 as an example.
"To win a World Cup, a team must be united. That unity in the 1996 Sri Lankan team came because of my incident (no-ball for chucking controversy in the Melbourne Test) in 1995. Everybody put their differences aside and were united. That was the factor for the success."
For a team which won the Cup in 2006 and finished runners-up in 2007 and 2011 to battling through the qualifiers for this edition of the World Cup, Lankan cricket's freefall has been alarming.
"For me as a player who has played for the country for two decades, it is sad and frustrating. But we haven't developed great players. When Arjuna (Ranatunga) was playing, he developed players like Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene and myself. After 2015, the side declined because we did not have enough players of calibre. You need 5-6 of them in a team. The team has been ok for the past few years with a few bits and pieces players coming through. But the consistency is not there," explained the 51-year-old.
