Mohammad Kaif wanted India to win the ICC World Cup 2023, but Australia were a better team on the day and lifted the trophy. He said India made a mistake by preparing a slow track for the mega match and paid the price. He even accused the BCCI of coming up with a wrong strategy for the final.
“I was at the Narendra Modi Stadium and saw Rahul Dravid and Rohit Sharma checking the pitch for three days. The colour of the pitch changed. If someone from the home team says we didn’t have any say about the track, it is a big lie. Had the game been played on a flat track, India could have easily won the World Cup. We had champion players in that team, but the team got stuck due to a doctored pitch.
“Pat Cummins knew how the pitch would play, and Australia generally bat after winning the toss, but they changed their planning for the final against India. The dew factor was on the back of the Australians mind and they took a call and it paid off,” Mohammad Kaif said on the Lallantop.
He also clarified that his India were a better team comment led to massive backlash on social media, with former England and Australia players questioning Kaif for making a wrong remark.
“I was talking about in the context of the tournament. India were unbeaten for 10 matches and played ruthlessly. None of the teams were able to challenge. All the players were in form. Rohit, Virat, Iyer scored a lot of runs. Shami, Bumrah and Kuldeep were bowling well. I know Australia won the World Cup, but India played better cricket. However, my comment was taken in a wrong way by few,” he added.
India were bowled for 240 runs after Pat Cummins invited the hosts to bat first. Australia were never in trouble, with Travis Head scoring a hundred to lead the team to a six-wicket win.