ICC would want India to play the Champions Trophy: AB de Villiers

South African limited overs skipper and superstar AB de Villiers has voiced his opinion on the ongoing tussle going on between the BCCI and the ICC which has put India’s participation in the Champions trophy in doubt. De Villiers is of the opinion that ICC will definitely want India to play in the tournament given the fact India had a terrific campaign last time around and they will be itching to defend their campaign.

De Villiers has been a part of the struggling Royal Challengers Bangalore squad and apart from a few breezy innings here and there, Mr.360 hasn’t been in the best of forms and has struggled to get going. He made a comeback with an audacious innings against Punjab but following that he has had pretty mediocre returns which have led to RCB’s downfall in the tournament so far.

“The ICC would want India to play the Champions Trophy. India won it last time in England and they will be ready for a strong campaign around this year as well,” de Villiers was quoted as saying by NDTV. RCB has been going through a horrendous run this season so far and has won only 2 out of the 10 matches. De Villiers said that despite their mediocre performance they would like to finish on a high in the remaining 4 games and win a few matches.

De Villiers was very vocal on his opinion on India’s participation and said India is a must in any global tournaments and they will definitely take part in the upcoming Champions Trophy. He also felt that ICC will definitely want India to play in the tournament given their huge fan base all over the world.

Meanwhile, the ICC is also aware of the consequences they might face if India eventually pulls out the tournament. PCB chairman Shaharyar Khan said a few days earlier that absence of India won’t have a bearing on the Champions Trophy as only Sri Lanka were in favour of BCCI’s finance model. They are not happy with ICC’s new finance model and not sending a team for the Champions Trophy might send a strong message to all that it can be repeated in the future.