India have a great chance of winning World Cup if Jasprit Bumrah is fully fit: Mohammed Kaif

Former cricketer Mohammad Kaif stated on Monday that the Indian team is capable of winning the World Cup at home this year and that it should not be judged based on two T20I losses in the West Indies.

After winning the two-Test series and one-day internationals in the Caribbean, India is trailing 0-2 in the five-match T20I series, prompting criticism of the team's preparations for two major tournaments: the Asia Cup in Pakistan and Sri Lanka and the ODI World Cup at home.

"India has lost just two matches (T20Is against West Indies), so we do not need to get overly concerned. I am seeing a lot of negative reaction after the two losses. But I will only say that our team is extremely competitive.

"I am not going to judge (India) on two back-to-back losses (in the West Indies). The only thing is that key players are missing.

"Bumrah missing is the biggest factor. If he recovers fullyâ€æ one aspect is to complete the recovery and the other aspect is to gain match fitness. If he regains that (match fitness), it will be a massive gain for Team



India.

"If Bumrah is fully fit, we have a great chance of winning the World Cup at home," said Kaif.

Bumrah will be staging a comeback during the T20 series against Ireland after being out of action for almost a year following a back surgery, and Kaif attributed the 29-year-old quick's absence to India's string of losses in major competitions during that period.

"A lot of people are discussing that the (India) team under (chief coach) Rahul Dravid lost the (T20) Asia Cup (last year), the (T20) World Cup in Australia, the World Test Championship in England (recently).

"I understand all that, mistakes have happened. But I think, is it not easy to play with Bumrah not in the side. He is the biggest match-winner and Rohit Sharma didn't get his services, so think about all that.

"I believe, as soon as Bumrah returns fully fitâ€æ he wins 50 per cent of the matches for the Indian team. I think if Bumrah is in the team and a few others like KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer also return, we have the players who can win the (World Cup) trophy," added Kaif.