'Is Virat Kohli going to win you the World Cup?' - Matthew Hayden discusses India's T20 WC squad

The T20 World Cup 2024 squad selection is a topic selling like hot cakes currently, especially for the Indian team. The tournament is set to be co-hosted by West Indies and USA in the month of June, and the deadline to announce the preliminary squads is Wednesday, May 1. There's been ubiquitous speculation regarding the 15-member squad for the participating nations.

A lot of experts have voiced their opinion regarding the selection for the Men in Blue, and former Australian cricketer, Matthew Hayden, has also joined the list. Speaking of the Indian probables, Hayden is of the opinion that star batter Virat Kohli is capable enough to win the coveted trophy, which they last won in the inaugural year in 2007.

“This Virat Kohli discussion is probably the primary discussion here. Is he the individual who is going to win you the World Cup? I mean, his last ODI World Cup was a fantastic campaign. So the challenge for me is his experience vs the young impetus that is required to play great World Cup cricket,” Hayden said while speaking on Star Sports' Press Room.

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“More than anything, India are playing 4 games in the USA, and they are unknown conditions, or at least less known than the Caribbean. And statistically, if you look at the way Caribbean cricket is played, you're going to face a lot of spin through the middle overs. So, outside the first six overs, that's where the challenge for Virat Kohli lies, when the pace comes off the ball, and you're in a situation where guys like great stroke-players like [Shivam] Dube or Rinku are present to carry you forward,” he added.

We don't select names, but players who can win us tournaments: Hayden

Skimming through the school of thought the Australian selectors possess as far as selecting squads for global tournaments are concerned, the former great iterated that rather than going by the name or the legacy of players and/or their past achievements, the selectors have a simple criterion in their mind before picking any player - whether a specific player would be good enough to win you the World Cup.

Suggesting the likes of David Warner, the southpaw also opened up on the dilemma which Cricket Australia are facing at the moment, but felt that they've been fairly accurate with the calls they've made to put forward a World Cup-winning squad since the past 20–30 years.

Also Read: 'No, boss, we had experience'—Irfan Pathan reminisces 2007 triumph to assert experience wins over age

“From an Australian cricket point of view, our philosophy is pretty simple. We pick not the names or the icons but select those who are going to win you the World Cup. We've got our own debates on our front. David Warner… should he go? We've had our challenges and I think we have been very good over the last 20 or even 30 years to actually think what is the side that is going to win,” the Aussie said.