Bengaluru, Feb 9: Stressing on the importance team-work, former India pacer Javagal Srinath spoke about India’s chances at the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011.

Srinath, who lead the bowling attack in the 2003 edition of the Cup in South Africa, emphasised the necessity of different players performing in tandem. “It’s not about one fast bowler. Zaheer [Khan], Ashish [Nehra] and Munaf [Patel] have to work in tandem. If one bowler has an off day then another will have to step up. Within the team there are teams - you have a fast bowler team, fast bowlers and spinners forming together as a team. Batsmen will have another team like the top three, middle-order and then the tail. There are various combinations [that can come handy] to win matches, not just the fast bowlers,” he said.

On India’s current bowling spearhead, Zaheer Khan, Srinath said, “He is a champion bowler. He has had injuries and [he] understands how to come back from setbacks. That is the lesson one will learn over a period of time and that comes with experience. He is the leader of the pack.”

Talking about the team’s fortunes in the tournament, he said, “It’s all about what kind of momentum you will have and the comfort a team [earns with a win that] will matter. There are lot of variables and combinations”.

On India having the home advantage, he said, “Home conditions, crowd support and with the talent that they have, this Indian team definitely have a winning combination. Having said that, they have to play some hard cricket all through the tournament to win the World Cup”

“India are starting as favourites, but that is just a tag that comes along,” Srinath said.

The current Hon. Secretary of the KSCA further elaborated, “But it will be all about how your batting and bowling clicks in unison at the right time. What kind of form each player will carry into the game. The favourites’ tag does carry its positives and negatives. The positive is that the team believes in itself and [is ready to] perform to [the] required standards. The downside is that the underdogs, not feeling any pressure, can squeeze past you if you are over confident.”

Talking about the roles, responsibilities and expectations from the senior and junior players Srinath said, “Pressure will be a notch higher for India. In 1996, we lost some crucial games - still we progressed to the knock-out stages. But when we played in England in 1999, it was a different kind of pressure for me as I knew I had to deliver as a senior player. So pressure will be a different entity for a senior and junior player.”

On the balance of power shifting in this tournament, Srinath said, “Australia were favourites for the last three World Cups and they performed as per expectations. I think this time it is India. It also raises the hopes of the Indians and keeps the players on their toes.”

Srinath is not one to regard a team’s form in practice games as an indication of their tournament chances. He quoted from experience, “We had some terrible performance going into the 2003 World Cup still we did well. The event goes on for one-and-a-half months, so even when a team has won a match, it should always look to do well in the next match.”

“How quickly a team switches to the next match will be important. Sometimes whether you do well in previous matches doesn’t matter, you should always look to win the next matches,” he said.