Former India cricket captain Sourav Ganguly believes England are the strongest team in the ICC ODI World Cup, which starts in England on Thursday.
Writing in an exclusive column for THE WEEK, Ganguly, who led India to the World Cup final in 2003, felt the current England batting line-up is “probably the best ever in the history of English One-Day cricket”.Ganguly's column appears in the issue of THE WEEK hitting stands on Thursday.
Ganguly noted the freedom with which each English batsman has been playing is “tremendous”. “They have consistently scored and chased 350 in the past few years, and the knowledge of their own conditions will be a big plus for them. And with India and Australia winning their home World Cups, England will believe that the jinx of the hosts not winning does not exist any more,” Ganguly wrote.
Ganguly highlighted England's depth in batting, “along with the all-rounders and strong lower-order batting,” that would add strength to the team's World Cup campaign.
Ganguly felt Australia was the side that had improved the most for the World Cup. Ganguly wrote Australia had “bounced back and surprised everyone” after their disappointing loss to India in the Test series last year. “The likes of Usman Khawaja, Aaron Finch, Shaun Marsh and Glenn Maxwell have taken their game forward since then, and this will place Australia among the main contenders,” Ganguly observed.
Delving into India's prospects, Ganguly wrote India's “top three are the best in the business, based on just the volume of runs and hundreds they have scored”. However, Ganguly felt India's middle order would play a vital role in the World Cup. He noted the form of wicket-keeper batsman M.S. Dhoni would be crucial.
Ganguly argued India's bowling line-up was balanced, with its spin attack being “the best in the competition, along with that of the Afghans”. This would allow captain Virat Kohli to “attack right through the 50 overs and pick wickets,” argued Ganguly.
As part of its World Cup coverage, the latest issue of THE WEEK features exclusive interviews of cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar, England all-rounder Ben Stokes, Afghanistan bowler Rashid Khan and Pakistan captain Sarfaraz Ahmed in addition to analysis.
