CWC 2019: Ravi Shastri wants IPL style playoffs in World Cup

What's the story?

The head coach of the Indian Cricket Team, Ravi Shastri, is not happy with the current format applied in the World Cup and wishes for a change. He wants the IPL Playoffs format to be used in the World Cup rather than Semi-Finals.

In case you don't know…

Before leaving for England, the skipper of Indian Cricket Team, Virat Kohli, attended a press conference with head coach Ravi Shastri in Mumbai. Shastri expressed this wish while talking to the reporters.

The heart of the matter

In the current format for this year's World Cup, the team placed at the first position in the points table will play the Semi-Final against the team placed at the fourth position.

And, the team placed at the second position will play Semi-Final against the team placed at the third position. While in the Indian Premier League, the rule is slightly different. Two qualifiers and one eliminator are played in the final stages of the league.

Shastri finds the format used in IPL more suitable as compared to that used in the World Cup.

“I have always said that. The IPL format is fantastic. You never know, in future, the ICC might think of doing it because of rain,” he said. “At this moment, we will just have to say bad luck because it is not something you can prepare for.”

Shastri, who was part of the Indian team which won the World Cup in 1983, also said,

“This tournament is a great opportunity, our team has played great cricket for the past five years. We need to enjoy the World Cup, see it as just a stage, if we play to our potential then the Cup can be here. Format is also challenging, the gap between team is also very close. It's a very strong competition. It will be fantastic. The plus side is you have nine games.”

What's next?

The World Cup 2019 will kick off from 30 May in England. India's campaign will start against South Africa on 5th June. India will also play two warm-up matches against New Zealand and Bangladesh.

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