Two stalwarts of world cricket, former Indian captain Kapil Dev and the celebrated Australian opening batsman, Matthew Hayden have emphasized the contribution from each individual player as crucial for winning the match. The statements separately made by the two great cricketers on the eve of the world cup will certainly have an impact on both Indian and Australian cricket teams.

Kapil was recollecting the historic victory of his team against West Indies in the Prudential World Cup finals at England 28 years ago. He paid glowing tributes to each player of his team comprising Sunil Gavaskar, K. Srikkant, Mohinder Amarnath, Yashpal Sharma, Sandeep Patil, Kirti Azad, Syed Kirmani, Madan Lal, Roger Binny and Balwinder Singh Sandhu. Kapil didn’t forget to admire the selectors of the team who created the “best team on earth.” He recalled that the striking power of the bowlers, the formidable fielding and the blasting performance by the all-rounders with bat and ball together enabled his team to defeat, West Indies, England, Australia and Zimbabwe in that series.

According to Matthew Hayden, though matches are played between the teams, they are won by individual skill. He said that the critical moments in a match such as crucial run-out, decisive catches etc are testimonials of individual brilliance.

Hayden, who had been with Chennai Super Kings in the IPL till 2010, opined that India has a well settled team for the ensuing World Cup series under the strong leadership of MS Dhoni. He sees the Indian team as rich in experience as well as power with players like Sachin Tendulkar, Virendra Sehwag, Yusuf Pathan, Gautam Gambhir and Suresh Raina.

About his home team, Hayden said that though they don’t have the likes of Andrew Symonds and Adam Gilchrist, captain Ricky Ponting is well equipped with potential players like Shane Watson, Steve Smith, Brett Lee and David Hussey.