[Exclusive] India are the best team in the world at the moment: Ian Bell

Ian Bell had been leading India Capitals in Legends League Cricket (LLC) 2024. They lost to Toyam Hyderabad in the Eliminator and bowed out of the competition. Bell is one of the many legendary players on show at the franchise tournament. The former England cricketer played 118 Tests, 161 ODIs, and eight T20Is and amassed 13,331 international runs.

On the sidelines of the six-team tournament, Bell spoke to CricTracker about a wide range of topics, picking some of the biggest rivalries in world cricket, naming players he would have wanted in his team, and predicting the upcoming WTC finalists. He also picked a former player he would love to share the dressing room with in the LLC.

Which Indian player would you have loved in your national team?

Obviously Virat Kohli. And I wouldn't mind [Jasprit] Bumrah in my bowling attack.

If you could swap your cricketing career with a player, who would it be and why?

Would I swap? I don't know if I would, but who would I admire? Watching someone like Virat Kohli over a long period of time, like Joe Root. Their longevity, their skill level is admirable. I think the way Virat handles the pressure of expectation and delivers consistently is something you admire.

Which legend would you want to pick in your team at this league?

MS Dhoni. Just to play in his team... Obviously I played enough cricket against him. He has a presence about him, a calmness. But it would be great just to share a dressing room for one game. So we'll have to speak to the guy [LLC administration], see if we can get him in for one [game]. But just to listen to his experiences and [see] his calmness under pressure would be great.

Which is the biggest rivalry in cricket as per you?

Growing up in England, the Ashes is something you grow up watching and wanting to play. But when you watch India versus Pakistan, [it] is an amazing rivalry and there's been some amazing games; amazing cricketers on both sides. But I think when those games are on, whether it's World Cup games, ICC Champions Trophy, these are the games you tune into definitely. But having played in a lot of Ashes cricket and a lot of time against Australia, that, for us in England, is the biggest rivalry.

Also Read: [Exclusive] 'Would be great to share dressing room with him - Ian Bell wants MS Dhoni to be part of LLC

Do you think India-Australia rivalry is reaching closer to the Ashes now?

India for me are the best team in the world at the moment, home and away. Australia and England, these are the three teams [which] are powerhouses in Test cricket. And I love the fact that [upcoming India-Australia series will be of five matches]. Five-match series are real testing. In three-match series or two-match series, you can nearly get away with certain things. But five Test matches... the best team will win. I'm really looking forward to watching India versus Australia series Down Under, it's going to be fascinating. India have everything in the squad to win.

I think they're playing in England next summer as well, five matches, so again, I think the next 12 months [are going to have] a lot of Test cricket. There's [also] an Ashes to follow. I think it's going to be [a] fascinating 12 months of cricket. I think the three best teams are playing a lot of cricket against each other is going to be awesome.

So would you rather pick India-England, India-Australia or England-Australia?

I'd be a little bit biased. England[-Australia]. The Ashes is something special. But I agree, the rivalry [betweem] India and Australia in particular - the way India have beaten Australia [in Australia], I think that's special. I remember the Brisbane game; Rishabh Pant's 100 [89], and the way they won... I mean that was a special, special series. I don't think Australia have beaten India for a long time. So, they're under a bit of pressure at home and the expectation is to win. I think the pressure is on Australia to win that series. 

Who are you seeing as finalists for WTC this time? 

Obviously India. It would be interesting to see [if] it's third time lucky [for India]. Again, you can only keep putting yourselves in finals and like I said, they've done that incredibly well. So consistent over such a long period of time.

I've been working with Sri Lanka as well in the recent time. It would be great [if they make it to the WTC final]. They're just hovering just below the top two. At the moment it's looking Australia and India, but Sri Lanka [are] just coming up. If they were to win a big series against Australia at home, you never know. You could see an India-Sri Lanka series, a Test of Championship at Lord's, which would be quite incredible.

But the fact that India have been in three [two-time finalsists] now, back-to-back, I think [it] shows the consistency they have home and away, which is what every team is chasing as well. [it[ is not just winning at home, but winning away from hom, which India are doing incredibly well.