2016 ICC World T20: Gautam Gambhir does not rate India as outright favourites

Gautam Gambhir, a member of India’s 2007 World T20 and 2011 World Cup winning teams, refused to name the hosts as outright favourites for the 10-team tournament stating that the T20 format was such that any team had the potential to clinch the coveted trophy.

Following a 2-0 series loss against South Africa at home in 2014, India has enjoyed a drastic change in fortunes since the turn of the year in the T20 format. Dhoni's men handed Australia a 3-0 whitewash Down Under before defeating Sri Lanka 2-1 in a 3-match T20 series at home followed by a convincing triumph at the Asia Cup, which was staged in the T20 format for the first time in its history.

The impressive run of results has led to many former and present cricketers to state that India were the favourites for the tournament, but it is not a view that is being shared by the Delhi Ranji team skipper.

"Seeing the previous results leading up to the World Cup, it looks exciting for India. They will go into the tournament with a lot of confidence. But T20 is such a format it's difficult to tag anyone as favourites. On a given day anyone can take the game away. World Cup will be different ball game from the pressure point of view," Gambhir said at an interactive session at the Calcutta Club on Saturday, as reported by Times of India.

While many feel that playing in home conditions will be an advantage for India, Gambhir is of the opinion that the added pressure and expectations from the home crowd can invariably make things more difficult.

"Pressure is far more when you play in your own country that too in an event like the World Cup. It's good that they have some experience in their squad. They need to do well on the field that's what all the matters," he said.

Gambhir believes that India will have a tough job at hand to even make it out of the group stages as they have been paired along with tough sides such as Australia, Pakistan and New Zealand.

"It will be pretty tough for India with the kind of group they're in. Australia, New Zealand and Pakistan are always very unpredictable. They need really have to get their A team forward if they want to go all the way,” he said.

Gambhir expresses displeasure over-hype surrounding India-Pakistan match

The highly anticipated India-Pakistan clash has been making the headlines over the past week or so following security concerns raised by the PCB. The match, which has been shifted from Dharamsala to Kolkata, has the fans buzzing in anticipation but Gambhir is not pleased with the hype being created around the clash between the arch-rivals.

The 34-year-old advised the Indian cricketers to treat the Pakistan match like any other and not to lose focus on the bigger prize – that of achieving World Cup glory.

"This is all created by media to get TRPs and stuff like that. It's not 'the' match. The bigger thing is that whoever is playing in the World Cup will look to win the trophy. India-Pakistan is just another match," Gambhir said. "People make it a hype but if you ask any sportsman they don't see it's 'the' game. The bigger aim is to win the World Cup. I would expect people to support India, that's very natural. The most important thing that people should enjoy good cricket."