Former Indian middle-order batter Mohammad Kaif has backed Team India to win the World Cup at home later this year and feels the criticism of the Hardik Pandya-led side is too harsh after two T20I losses to West Indies.
India are currently trailing 0-2 in the five-T20I series against two-time T20 World Champions. Following two losses, there has been scrutiny of the team's preparations with the Asia Cup just around the corner followed by the mega event.
While Kaif feels that there is no need to look too much into these losses, the return of Jasprit Bumrah will be a big boost.
"India has lost just two matches (T20Is against West Indies), so we do not need to get overly concerned. I am seeing a lot of negative reaction after the two losses. But I will only say that our team is extremely competitive.
"I am not going to judge (India) on two back-to-back losses (in the West Indies). The only thing is that key players are missing.
"Bumrah missing is the biggest factor. If he recovers fully... one aspect is to complete the recovery and the other aspect is to gain match fitness. If he regains that (match fitness), it will be a massive gain for Team India.
"If Bumrah is fully fit, we have a great chance of winning the World Cup at home," said Kaif.
Bumrah will be marking his comeback in the three-T20I series against Ireland after recovering from back surgery that ruled him out of T20 World Cup 2022, World Test Championship (WTC) 2023.
"A lot of people are discussing that the (India) team under (chief coach) Rahul Dravid lost the (T20) Asia Cup (last year), the (T20) World Cup in Australia, the World Test Championship in England (recently).
"I understand all that, mistakes have happened. But I think, is it not easy to play with Bumrah not in the side. He is the biggest match-winner and Rohit Sharma didn't get his services, so think about all that.
"I believe, as soon as Bumrah returns fully fit... he wins 50 per cent of the matches for the Indian team. I think if Bumrah is in the team and a few others like KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer also return, we have the players who can win the (World Cup) trophy," added the 42-year-old.
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