Kapil Dev puts his money on India to retain the Champions Trophy

Kapil Dev, the captain of the first Indian team to win the World Cup, feels that India would be able to defend their title in the Champions Trophy 2017. According to him, the current bunch of boys playing in the blue jersey has got what it takes to go the distance in the elite 50-over tournament.

India retained as many as 8 players from the squad that won the Champions Trophy 2013. Though the core of the team may be more or less similar, we will see a change in roles now. Virat Kohli will be leading the side now in his first major ICC tournament. The winner of many, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, is in the team now just as a wicketkeeper-batsman. Dhoni led the side to the 2013 triumph were they defeated hosts England in the final.

Kapil’s opinions

When asked about the national team’s chances of defending their title, he said, “The way they are playing, yes, definitely…I believe we have the team and the ability.” A confident Dev added “I don’t see any reason why we can’t win the event. I know the opposition is very very tough in England. The good part is that we won last time when we played there and that is an advantage.”

He also mentioned that India is a far better team on paper than arch-rivals Pakistan. He feels that India will start their campaign with a comprehensive win over the neighbours on June 4th at the Edgbaston, Birmingham.

In his opinion, the English team will be a team to beat in the tournament. “You can’t rule out any team but England will be very very tough playing in England and their team is quite good. They know the conditions better than anybody else,” he said.

Here is the complete ICC Champions Trophy 2017 groups, venues and fixtures guide:

Group A: Australia, New Zealand, England, Bangladesh.

Group B: India, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Pakistan.

Schedule

Warm-up matches

26 May – Australia v Sri Lanka, The Oval

27 May – Bangladesh v Pakistan, Edgbaston

28 May – India v New Zealand, The Oval

29 May – Australia v Pakistan, Edgbaston

30 May – New Zealand v Sri Lanka, Edgbaston

30 May – Bangladesh vs India, The Oval

Tournament

1 June – England v Bangladesh, The Oval (Day)

2 June – Australia v New Zealand, Edgbaston (D)

3 June – Sri Lanka v South Africa, The Oval (D)

4 June – India v Pakistan, Edgbaston (D)

5 June – Australia v Bangladesh, The Oval (D/N)

6 June – England v New Zealand, Cardiff (D)

7 June – Pakistan v South Africa, Edgbaston (D/N)

8 June – India v Sri Lanka, The Oval (D)

9 June – New Zealand v Bangladesh, Cardiff (D)

10 June – England v Australia, Edgbaston (D)

11 June – India v South Africa, The Oval (D)

12 June – Sri Lanka v Pakistan, Cardiff (D)

14 June – First semi-final (A1 v B2), Cardiff (D)

15 June – Second semi-final (A2 v B1), Edgbaston (D)

18 June – Final, The Oval (D)

19 June – Reserve day (D)