Michael Vaughan shares his verdict on the Champions Trophy

Former Ashes-winning English captain Michael Vaughan took to Twitter to reveal his verdict on the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy to be held in England and Wales starting tomorrow on June 1. Michael Vaughan backed India and England to clinch the trophy but stressed the importance of the nature of wickets, which would determine the eventual winner of the tournament.

Michael Vaughan stated that if the pitch remains dry throughout the tournament, Indians have a high chance of winning the tournament whereas England will go on to be the winners if pitches support swinging and seaming conditions.

England pitches coupled with overcast conditions, always induces swing and seam, assisting bowlers. According to Vaughan, if the pitches used resembles the normal English nature in the United Kingdoms, then there’s no stopping the home team. England bowling boasts the services of Chris Woakes, David Willey, Mark Wood and Ben Stokes.

Vaughan backs India on Dry pitches

However, Vaughan commented that the Indian side too also has a good chance to defend their title if the pitches relayed are dry-natured, given the lethal spin attack of the Asian team, featuring Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, and Yuvraj Singh. Except for the trio, Kedar Jadhav and Rohit Sharma are capable part-timers to create headaches within the opposition camp.

The Yorkshireman also backed Australia and South African team to go deep into the tournament. Australians boast the four-pronged pace attack of Pat Cummins, James Pattinson, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc. Their batting order too is in rich form featuring the likes of Aaron Finch, David Warner, Steve Smith, Chris Lynn, and Glenn Maxwell.

For the Proteas, Kagiso Rabada, Hashim Amla, AB de Villiers, and Imran Tahir hold the key to progress into the latter stages of the tournament. Michael Vaughan tweeted by saying, “Champions trophy..Eng,Aus,SA & India..Take your pick from those 4 … If dry wickets then India … if normal English pitches Eng my pick”

Champions trophy..Eng,Aus,SA & India..Take your pick from those 4 … If dry wickets then India … if normal English pitches Eng my pick .

— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) May 31, 2017