Early wins will be the key for India: John Wright

BENGALURU: With less than two weeks to go for the World Cup, the odds are heavily stacked against Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his men. But former Indian coach John Wright believes going into the quadrennial extravaganza, India have the potential to turn things in their favour.
Speaking to TOI, the 60-year-old, who coached the Indian side, a decade ago for five years between 2001-05 said, "It is a new tournament and a new start.Everyone is starting from where India is starting. Sri Lanka have just lost a series in New Zealand and West Indies too have lost a big one. On the other hand, Australia have just won a series and South Africa are playing very well. That said, everyone will start from scratch. It all boils down to mindset and determination."
After the whitewash Down Under in both Tests and tri-series, the New Zealander said, it was time for the defending champions to pull their act together.
"There is a lot one can learn from losing or from a sub-standard performance. It will show the resilience of the team and what they can do better to rectify the mistakes. There is no reason why they cannot play good cricket or win. The lead-up to the World Cup is extremely important for them. The beginning of the World Cup will be crucial too because they will need to win some matches to get their confidence going."
Talking about the need to improve their overall game, Wright said, "I think India have to look at their all-round game. It is up to each area (department) to back each other up. They have to improve in all areas. Everyone has a role in the team and that has to be explained well to each individual. Then the job of the players is to go out there and fulfill the role assigned."
With the Indian bowlers currently a deflated bunch, Wright explained the intricacies of bowling in Australia.
"In Australia you can't bowl on both sides of the wicket or too short and if you do that, you are bound to be punished. If you get a good length, the ball will carry and you often get bounce. Sometimes teams make the mistake of bowling too short. The Indians in particular, will have to look at the balance of their attack and work out who their four best bowlers are and go with them. And sometimes your fifth bowler will share the load. India have an all-rounder so they can play five specialist bowlers."