As West Indian legend Andy Roberts gingerly climbs down the stairs, with Courtney Walsh, and no scrambling photographers, no fans crowding around, I wonder.What is it with India, where stars are created one day, shot down the next, where former players are revered like gods, where, given a chance, even a temple would pop up one day in the name of a cricket player?Even here, in the hotel where all the teams were put up for the opening ceremony, it’s a mix and match of familiar-looking faces: fans, businessmen, reporters, it is almost as if you are back in Mumbai.Why, at the mega captains’ press conference, amidst the same, inane questions and shallow answers, one common question stood out, session after session: India?So, how do they really see India’s chances? The answers were, actually, interesting.Ricky Ponting, captain of the 2003 World Cup winners, did bring on the smiles by saying India were dangerous, but quickly reminded everyone that they are known to be “bad travellers” — there was some PR for fellow Australian Greg Chappell, too.South African skipper Graeme Smith took a different route, dropping a cunning reminder on the return of Sourav Ganguly. And Sri Lanka’s Mahela Jayawardene? He was as usual gentle, polished but couldn’t resist this one line: “It is not just enough to have the big names, it is necessary to get performances out of them.” Smart.Anyway, let’s hear how India played out before the world.• Ricky Ponting: “India will be very dangerous in these conditions. Just about six months back, the same coach was copping a fair bit of flak because the team wasn’t playing all that well, but they have turned things around very quickly. They are playing very good cricket, and these conditions will be pretty similar to what they often play on in back home in India. But the negative is that the team has never travelled too well, so we will have to see how they go here.”• Graeme Smith: “They are a very competitive side with many world-class performers. They have quite a lot of options in both batting and bowling. The challenge is not to get those options to come off. They have got back some experience in the shape of Sourav (Ganguly) and (Anil) Kumble. India have a very good chance of winning the World Cup, like a lot of other teams have.”• Michael Vaughan: “India are a very good team with vast experience and talent. They have a lot of depth and a lot of options, and there is every chance that we will meet them in the Super Eight stage. But as far as we are concerned, in any game, we focus on our performances. If we can turn up andplay well, we will give any team a game. India are one of the hot favourites for the title, of that there is no doubt.”• Mahela Jayawardene: “When we played them the last time in India last month, they played very well in the last two games. They have got a lot of experience in their ranks, and some proven performers. It all boils down to individuals performing at the right time. Everyone goes out knowing that they must perform on a particular day. But it is not just enough to have the big names, it is necessary to get performances out of them.”World Cup or India Cup?
