ICC World Cup 2019: Michael Holding names India’s X-Factors for the tournament

There’s absolutely no doubt on the fact that India has been one of the most dominant teams in the ODI format for quite a while now. They are ranked second in the ICC ODI team rankings as have won pretty much everything in the last one year, apart from the odd blemish here and there. The Virat Kohli-captained unit is now set to play the upcoming World Cup in England and Wales.

India’s first match is against South Africa on June 5 at the Rose Bowl in Southampton. In the meantime, Michael Holding, the former Windies batsman, talked about the two players, who are going to play the most important part for the Men in Blue in the tournament.

“I will mention two names, Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah. Both these cricketers have excellent qualities to win the Cup for India,” Holding told TOI when asked about India’s X-Factors for the 50-overs tournament.

Holding certainly has followed both Kohli and Bumrah as the two cricketers have evolved and excelled in their respective crafts. With 41 ODI centuries, Kohli has nearly 11,000 runs in the format. On the contrary, the 25-year-old Bumrah has as many as 85 wickets in 49 matches in ODI cricket at an average of 22.15 and an incredible economy of 4.51, bowling in crunch moments of matches.

Champion team must know to play under pressure

The 65-year-old Holding said that he won’t be surprised if either India or England end up winning the championship. England are ICC’s top-ranked ODI team. “India has been outstanding. They are consistent. They have got good players. The champion team must know to play under pressure. I’ll not be surprised if either England or India wins the Cup this time,” Holding further said.

He also stated that the Eoin Morgan-led side has a balanced unit and the fact that they will be playing at home may work in their favour. “England will be playing at home. They have really displayed well in One-day cricket recently. They really have a balanced side,” the Windies great concluded.

[interaction id=”5cd58c9fe6672558c9f515ee”]

Get the latest Cricket News and updates from World Cup 2019, Match Predictions, Fantasy Cricket Tips and lots more on CricTracker.com.