Cricket World Cup: India team profile & player to watch

Few sides at this year’s World Cup will be followed as passionately or have as much pressure on them as India.

They are twice world champions – in 1983, when they defied the odds to beat the mighty West Indies at Lord’s, and as tournament hosts in 2011 – and hopes are high that Virat Kohli’s men can claim a third title on July 14.

Only hosts England are ranked higher than the Indians heading into the tournament and for good reason.

For decades India have boasted some of the game's finest batsman, such as Sunil Gavaskar, Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid, but have lacked depth to their bowling attack, especially in the seam department.

The current India side have no such concerns, matching a typically high-class batting unit with perhaps the most rounded collection of bowlers in the tournament.

Pacemen Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami excelled in last summer’s Test series with England, swinging the ball at pace in conditions they can utilise to their benefit over the next six weeks.

In Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal, Kohli has two spin options of the highest order who provide a mystery factor in the middle overs. If the sun shines as predicted and the pitches begin to wear, the spin duo will be of incredible importance to India as the tournament develops.

Then there is their batting line-up. From top to tail India have destruction, class and runs in abundance, led by the inimitable Kohli.

Arguably the best batsman in the world, the captain averages more than 50 in all forms of international cricket and nearly 60 in the 50-over game, having scored 10,843 runs in 227 ODIs. It is little wonder he is top of the ICC’s Test and ODI batting rankings.

But there is much more to India’s batting than just Kohli. Opener Shikhar Dhawan has scored more runs (1,113 in 18 innings) than any other batsmen in the last three ICC tournaments, two of which have taken place in the UK.

His opening partner Rohit Sharma has scored three double-centuries in ODI cricket, including a staggering 264 against Sri Lanka. And then there is the destructive finishing of veteran wicket-keeper MS Dhoni, whose pyrotechnics show no sign of abating judged by this season’s IPL, and all-rounder Hardik Pandya.

With so much talent in every department, this could be an Indian summer in more ways than one.

Player to watch
Jasprit Bumrah
Virat Kohli’s brilliance with the bat is not exactly a secret and he will of course be crucial to India’s chances. But so too will right-arm quick Bumrah. The skiddy seamer regularly bowls at 90mph, has
an excellent yorker and averages under 23 runs in every format of the game – practically unheard of in the current era.

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