India might be the defending champions at the ICC Champions Trophy 2017 and one of the favourites to lift the trophy for a second successive time but their captain Virat Kohli feels that England are the team to beat this tournament and it’s one side which will be a challenge to deal with.
“I think England are a very, very balanced side. One of the two best balanced sides in the world at the moment. They bat right down to 9 or 10, they are all explosive players, five or six guys can bat and bowl, and they are gun fielders as well”.
“We experienced that in India, they are pretty hard to get past, and that’s something that is going to be a challenge for every other team in the Champions Trophy as well. We always related to England as a very strong Test team, but in last two or three years post [the 2015] World Cup, they’ve really changed the way they play their cricket,” said while he was sharing India’s hopes in the Champions Trophy.
Kohli also said that England can score 300+ runs against any team and can easily chase such totals as they have lot of all-rounders in the tail end who could change the result of the match. He added that their chance is further heightened as the game is going to be played in their home ground.
Earlier, the former Indian player Azzharudheen had also spoken of England’s chance to crown Champions Trophy.