World Cup 2019: Irfan Pathan reveals his four semifinalists

Veteran allrounder Irfan Pathan has revealed his choices of semifinalists of this year’s World Cup. The twelfth edition of the competition will start today at The Oval with red-hot favourites and hosts England locking horns with South Africa. The tournament will last for 45 days and will come to an end with the final on July 14 at the historic Lord’s. This year’s competition will see the top ten teams of the world in the fray to lay hands on the coveted cup.

Contrary to the format in recent years, the teams have not been divided into groups. Instead, all the ten teams will play against each other once before the top four teams make it to the semifinal. This is the second time the World Cup is being held in this format. The World Cup was first played in this format in 1992 when Pakistan had defeated England in the final to win their first and only World Cup till.

Pathan’s predictions

The allrounder, who helped India win the 2007 World T20 and was the Man of the Match in the final, picked hosts England, India, Australia and South Africa as his four semifinalists. England has been widely tipped to go all the way this year and end their decade-old wait for a World Cup. The Eoin Morgan-led side is the best-ranked ODI side in the world now. They are entering the tournament with the winning feeling of 11-series unbeaten run in the last two years. Recently, they blanked Pakistan 4-0 to prove their World Cup credentials.

India, on the other hand, is also in good form in the last few years. The Men in Blue have one of the most if not the most balanced team this year. On the other hand, Australia is the defending champions and are the most successful side in the World Cup, having won it 5 out of 11 times. The Aussies have also picked at the right time and have won their last 8 ODIs in addition to beating England in the warm-up clash. South Africa also have a formidable squad and are more than capable of going all the way this year.

“World cup is about to start, Let’s talk about the top 4. Mine: 1)India 2)England 3)Australia 4) South Africa #worldcup,” Irfan Pathan wrote on Twitter.

World cup is about to start,Lets talk about top 4. Mine: 1)India 2)England 3)Australia 4) south Africa #worldcup

— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) May 29, 2019