What’s the story?
Irfan Pathan is convinced that Virat Kohli’s Team India will successfully defend the Champions Trophy which commences on the 1st of June. The tournament will be held in England and Wales.
“Given all these facts (selected players are in good form), I am very hopeful that the Indian team can repeat the performances of the 2013 edition of the Champions Trophy. That was a piece of history that I was also a part of and I feel that the Indian squad of today are strong contenders to become champions again,” Pathan said in an interview with pakpassion.net.
In case you didn’t know...
The Men in Blue won the previous edition of the Champions Trophy under Dhoni’s captaincy, which featured Irfan in the squad. India – 129-7 (20) went on to beat England – 124-8 (20), in the finals by a margin of five runs at Edgbaston. Irfan, although a part of the squad, did not feature much over the course of the tournament.
Meanwhile, India will enter this edition of the Champions Trophy after an immensely successful home season.They clinched the No. 1 spot in the ICC Test rankings post series victories over New Zealand, England, Bangladesh and Australia and many of the players had a successful IPL season as well. However, they have not played too many ODIs of late and it remains to be seen how they adapt to the format so soon after the IPL.
The heart of the matter
The Indian all-rounder Pathan expressed that the squad picked for the Champions Trophy consists of players who are in impressive form. Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah and the others performed extremely well in the IPL and the same applies to the batsmen as well.
Also read: Yuvraj and Dhoni are the strongest pillars in the team, says Virat Kohli ahead of Champions Trophy departure
The 32-year-old further went on to say that the Indian bowling unit, in particular, Shami and Bhuvneshwar, would look to utilise the swinging conditions on offer in England to the best of their abilities, thus making them a formidable unit.
What’s next?
The Champions Trophy will begin on the 1st of June and India will play their first game against Pakistan on the 4th. The Men in Blue are in group B and will encounter South Africa, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, while England, Australia, Bangladesh and New Zealand are in Group A.
Author’s Take
India’s Champions Trophy squad looks promising on paper with the experience of MS Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh in the middle order. They are also entering the tournament with what looks to be their best bowling unit in years. Hence, Pathan’s prediction seems reasonable. However, it should not be forgotten that the tournament is in England and India will be tested against the swinging ball.
It is also a very crucial tournament for Kohli as it’s his first major ICC event as the skipper of the side.
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