Defending Champions India to start their ICC Champions Trophy campaign against arch-rivals Pakistan on Sunday. Image Source: XtraTime[/caption]Internet Desk: India and Australia both teams have faced serious off-field issues in recent times, but they will start the ICC Champions Trophy campaign as title contenders, which is starting from tomorrow.
An incredible change has been displayed by the host country England as a strong limited-overs side and they will now be the ‘Dark Horse’ in the eight-team tournament. The West Indies team which was formerly a strong contender will miss the tournament due to ICC team rankings issue.
Ahead of the much-anticipated competition between India and Pakistan on the 4th of June, England will begin their journey against minnows Bangladesh tomorrow.
However, the two teams that will enjoy maximum traction are surely going to be India and Australia in a tournament where one can expect high-scoring matches on good batting tracks.
Both teams have a fantastic blend of youth and experience, a must for 50-over cricket.
Ironically, both teams have been in the news for reasons which aren't exactly cricketing to say the least.
The Australian team's fee disagreement with their cricket board is out in the public. Meanwhile, the alleged rift between Indian captain Virat Kohli and chief coach Anil Kumble keeps increasing.
Both teams will be starting their respective campaigns in such an uncomfortable backdrop, but they have quality players in their ranks, who will not let the controversies affect their game.
Both teams have excellent players and will begin their respective campaigns in unfortunate circumstances, not allowing the rumours influence their game.
The Indian team has won both its warm-up matches without getting anxious.
On the other hand, Australia also played well in their respective warm-up games.
With 9 players from the triumphant 2013 side secured, India has a perfectly balanced team.
Virat Kohli would like to brush aside his substandard IPL form before the tournament begins since it will be the batsman’s first big test as captain in an ICC event.
The team's batting line up which includes Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Yuvraj Singh and none other than Mahendra Singh Dhoni is the most skilled among all the eight participating nations.
The untried Kedar Jadhav or the experienced Dinesh Karthik are also good enough to win matches on their own.
Not only does the all-rounder Hardik Pandya provide a sense of balance, India also has Umesh Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah as a part of the four-pronged pace attack for the very first time.
Ace spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja are also there to check runs.
For Australia, the presence of David Warner, skipper Steve Smith and Aaron Finch gives the batting line-up a formidable look along with Glenn Maxwell in the middle order.
The fast bowling attack bears a fearsome look with Mitchell Starc, James Pattinson, Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood. Marcus Stoinis is an all-rounder with the x-factor.
The team to watch out for could be England, which has made giant strides under Eoin Morgan's captaincy.
In Jos Buttler and Jason Roy, they have two impactful openers. Morgan's experience in the middle is invaluable and they have two of the best all-rounders in the game -- Ben Stokes and Chris Woakes.
Stokes, in particular, has seen his stocks soar to an all time high after a brilliant IPL.
He has already sounded a warning signal with a hundred in a warm-up game. However, there are some niggling injury issues which might hamper him from bowling his full quota of 10 overs.
Woakes, a bowling all-rounder known for his variation and change ups, could prove to be a handful in the familiar home conditions.
While England, India and Australia remain firm contenders for the semi-final slot, South Africa, with players like AB de Villiers, Quinton de Kock, Hashim Amla in their ranks, cannot be discounted either.
However, the eternal chokers tag is something that would always be an issue for the Proteas considering their dismal record at ICC events.
But they would like to remember that their only ICC triumph was this very tournament way back in 1998 during it's inaugural edition in Dhaka.
Pakistan are an unpredictable team which has talent that often doesn't translate into performance. But Sarfraz Ahmed's side has the ability to do well.
Pakistan have had a knack of throwing up new talent.
And this time, leg-spinner Shadab Khan and all-rounder Faheem Ashraf are new kids on the block.
Mohammed Aamir in English conditions could be lethal in the company of Wahab Riaz.
New Zealand, the eternal bridesmaid of international cricket, will bank on their skipper Kane Williamson and all- rounder Corey Anderson to make a difference.
Sri Lanka and Bangladesh are two sides, which as of now don't look like being in contention for a semi-final berth with not much quality to counter the English conditions.
With inputs from PTI.
0 comments:
Post a Comment