ICC Champions Trophy 2017: Kumar Sangakkara feels India are capable of retaining the crown they won in 2013
What’s the Story?
Former Sri Lankan captain Kumar Sangakkara has said that India were capable of defending their Champions Trophy crown that they won in 2013, stating that they had a very balanced side that could go all the way.
“This year we have four Asian teams in the tournament and clearly India is current the pack-leaders in the region. It won in 2013 and it has a team capable of winning this year too.
“In fact, the team is arguably stronger, better balanced with real firepower in its fast bowling. Its spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja are exceptional in ODI cricket and I am sure Virat Kohli is going to be desperate to bounce back after a disappointing IPL,” Sangakkara wrote in his column for the ICC website.
In case you didn’t know...
After a gap of 11 years, India reclaimed the Champions Trophy in 2013 in England, under the leadership of MS Dhoni. Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma were the chief architects in India’s flamboyant win in England.
The heart of the matter
The 39-year-old further wrote that he expected India, Australia, South Africa and England to find a spot in the semifinal of the competition and further praised England for the manner in which they have improved their limited-overs cricket in the past few years, stating that from a team that trailed for a large part, they have turned into one of the most progressive sides in the game.
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What’s next?
The main draw of the Champions Trophy begins from Thursday with England taking on Bangladesh, who will be playing in this event for the first time since 2006. India’s first match will be against Pakistan at Edgbaston on the 4th of June.
Author’s take
While India will begin as one of the favourites for the competition, they will find it hard to match their exploits form 2013, if their batting does not fire the way it did in that edition.The Men In Blue surely possess one of the best bowling units in the competition, but it is the batting that will have to step up and deliver if the team is to retain the crown.