Sir Viv Richards includes Irfan in his list of watch out players for World Cup 2015

SYDNEY: Former skipper and Legendry Cricketer Sir Vivian Richards has included a Pakistani players in his Watch out list for World Cup 2015.

The legend began his list South African skipper AB De Villiers who has just recently broke the record of  fastest century .

He said, “I like his style and he is one player who is very hard to leave out of any One Day International (ODI) team.”

On the second spot he chose Indian batsman Virat Kohil who is considered as a back bone of Indian bating line.

He said at such a young age he has twice the number of ODI centuries than in Tests and he is such a confident player in limited-overs.

Then for the third spot he chose non other then West Indian giant Chris Gayle. Richards said, “on his day, he can be very destructive, a bowlers’ nightmare. He can be a match-winner in any environment and in any match conditions. If he is on song, then the opposition can lose the match in the blink of an eye, that’s how destructive he can be.”

Young talent from Australia who recently broke the record of Sir Donald Bradman, Steve Smith. “He is not the most orthodox player, yet in the last couple years he has improved by leaps and bounds, unlike anyone else recently. Just look at his record after becoming Australia’s Test captain this past summer. He is almost tireless, picks gaps with ease and has a wonderful hand-eye co-ordination. He will be playing at home and will only make that advantage work in his favour in the World Cup”, West Indian legend said.

Most of you know Glenn Maxwell, who can destroy the opposition with his ferocious batting and tight bowling is on the fifth spot in Richard’s top 10.

New Zealand skipper Brendon McCullum manage to impress the legend with his batting and earned a sixth spot in his top 10.

Sri Lankan leading run scorer today Kumar Sangakkara gets the seventh spot in Richards top 1o, Legend says,  “Sangkkara will also be playing in his last ICC Cricket World Cup. Over the last few years, no other batsman has lit up the international cricketing scene the way he has. He has scored heavily in both Tests as well as limited-overs. I have been an avid follower of Sri Lanka cricket and I believe the experience Sangakkara has, he can inspire his team to deliver a good showing at the World Cup.”

Looking at the bowlers now, the first name is that of Dale Steyn obviously. “In my opinion, he is the best fast bowler in the world and has been so for a few years now. He is just so consistent and aggressive, and his ability as a pace bowler is second to none. In the limited-overs arena too, he never looks to contain runs. Steyn’s bowling is based on pace and aggression, and he will get wickets for you irrespective of the format and that puts South Africa in a formidable position. In this coming World Cup, he has an opportunity to do something special for his team and make it a memorable showing for the Proteas after a long time”, Richards said.

The seven-foot tall Mohammad Irfan should be another fast bowler to watch-out for. Because of his height, the bounce of hard Australia wickets will be very useful for him and he will trouble the batsmen with it. Moreover, he is a left-arm bowler and that angle can create problems as well. If he stays fit throughout the tournament, Pakistan will have a wonderful bowler at its disposal.