- An Arsenal of fast bowlers:
Virat Kohli-led side has specialist bowlers including seamers as they are as many as five in the list of players, who are expected to deliver goods in the English conditions given to their execution of death bowling and containing the fiery batsmen of opponents right from the start of an innings.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar is capable of picking wickets as well keeping the scoring rate in check.
On the other side, the 23-year-old Jasprit Bumrah has been effusively praised for his quality and discipline with the ball in death overs.
Bumrah, who has an unorthodox bowling style, has a stock ball in form of Yorkers which he has mastered to deceive the batsmen.
It would be interesting to see how Bumrah will be able to disguise his line and length in the English conditions which of late has helped batsmen.
The wily customer Bhuvneshwar Kumar has the economy rate of 3.91 as he eked out six wickets after conceding 137 runs in 35 overs which further saw his average as 22.83 in 2013 multilateral edition.
- Spinning it on:
Spin would be crucial in the middle-overs for India, as the two slow-bowling heroes would make a scoring tough for the batsmen while being well equipped to give their best shot for Men in Blue.
The most wicket-taker of Champions Trophy 2013, Ravindra Jadeja was prolific with the ball, as he claimed 12 wickets in five matches at an average of 12.83. His best figures came in as five for 36.
While having the success in a bid to contain batsmen, Jadeja conceded 154 runs in 41 overs at a remarkable economy of 3.75 runs per over.
On the other side, Ashwin gave away 181 runs in 41 overs at the economy of 4.41.
The ace off-spinner, who managed to find sixth place in the wicket-taking list of 2013 event, bagged eight wickets in five matches at an average of 22.62
- Going with experience:
India has a lot of experience and as many as nine players of the 15-member were part of the 2013 squad which was also hosted by England.
The new six players have been included are Kedar Jhadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya, Mohammad Shami, Manish Pandey and Ajinkya Rahane.
- Virat Kohli On The Batting Map:
India can take pride in a powerful batting lineup which is led by Virat Kohli, who can win matches.
Of late, Kohli has gone through a barren patch in the recently concluded IPL but is capable of making a stronger comeback than ever considering the fact of his classical batting display.
In 2013, Kohli was the fifth run-getter and third in the top five list from India to amass 176 runs in five matches at an average of 58.66. He smashed a single half-century as he maintained his strike-rate as 95.65.
Kohli, who has been rising to the occasion in all three formats, has played 179 ODIs in which he has amassed 7, 755 runs at an average of 53.11, which includes 27 hundreds and 39 half-centuries as he has also taken 86 catches in this format.
- Expectations from cricket fanatics:
Have you ever thought gentleman’s being played without spectators, fans deciding to take a break and broadcasting giants switching to other sport in a bid to lure lucrative contracts?
The answer is no and it’s highly improbable as it has become an enriching experience to be the part of the game.
Coming to the conclusion, the team has shown continuity in the recent past even though they have had lesser 50-over matches on offer.
The fans are expecting a cracking contest and matches in favour of India in a bid to see their team retaining the coveted title.
The formidable team is expected to add a consistent performance in general as they are going to face arch-rivals Pakistan, Sri Lanka and South Africa in their Group B fixture.
Here’s India’s 15-member squad for ICC Champions Trophy:
Virat Kohli (C), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wicket-keeper), Yuvraj Singh, Kedar Jhadav, Manish Pandey, Hardik Pandya, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah.