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World Cup 2019: India have enough ammunition going into World Cup, says Shastri

All-rounder Kedar Jadhav suffered an injury during then IPL, where key wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav's lack of form also came under the scanner but Shastri said, "it doesn't worry me at all."

Commenting on which player will bat at number four position for India in the World Cup, head coach Ravi Shastri made it clear that India is a flexible squad with many options going into the World Cup. It was largely  perceived that all-rounder Vijay Shankar has been named in the WC squad so that he could bat at crucial number four position. "We are a flexible team. It's horses for courses, we have got enough ammunition. We have got enough players who can bat at 4. So, I am not really worried about that," Shastri said. "I think we have got all bases covered. Last thing you want is passengers on the tour. You want to have in those 15 players ... who can play anytime, at any given time. If there is a major injury to a fast bowler, there will be a replacement almost straight away," he said in an interview with CricketNext. All-rounder Kedar Jadhav suffered an injury during then IPL, where key wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav's lack of form also came under the scanner but Shastri said, "it doesn't worry me at all." "In-fact I am totally blanked out from that. When the flight takes off on the 22nd, (May) we will see who are the 15 on that and just take it from there. Luckily in Kedar's case, there is no fracture so we will wait and watch. There is still time so it should be ok," he said. Shastri said a team can't pre-plan for a big event like the World Cup and the four years leading up to the tournament is the time to prepare. "In these big tournaments.... You go with the flow, you react spontaneously to different situations and the four years that have gone in between the World Cup, that's what prepares teams," he said. The former captain handpicked West Indies and Australia to watch out for in the showpiece event. "When they (West Indies) were in India I said we might have beaten them but we had a tough series and they played some excellent cricket. And I said that at the given time, there was no (Chris) Gayle, there was no (Andre) Russell in that side," Shastri said. "I said watch out for this side, they have serious talent and I was very happy about that. Because you have played in the glory days of West Indies against some of the best players to have played the game and then the country has gone through some real debacles. "The power hitting there is something that no team comes close. When it comes to the sheer ability to hit sixes, they are way up the ladder there."
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