Irfan Pathan backs team India to win ICC Champions Trophy 2017

Veteran Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan has tipped the Indian team as the favorites for the upcoming edition of the Champions Trophy. Team India will head into the tournament as the defending champions. Irfan, who was a part of the team that had won the 2013 edition of the tournament, backed the chances of the Indian team based on the bowling attack that the team possesses.

In a conversation with pakpassion.net, Irfan Pathan elaborated his claims. He cited that the likes of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mohammad Shami have been bowling excellently in the recent times. Also, the current form of the players in the batting order is quite healthy too. This makes the side a balanced one heading into the high profile tournament.

“The Indian ODI team has been playing well in recent times and the players selected for the Champions Trophy squad have been in top form as well. Look at the examples of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami and others who have performed excellently in the IPL. The same applies for the batsmen as well. So, the fact that all of these players are in good form is crucial for the chances of any team in such a high-profile competition,” quoted Irfan Pathan.

Bowling to set Indian apart from other teams

The veteran all-rounder further added that he hopes the squad will repeat the heroics of the 2013 edition. Picking another team that he feels is well set in their combinations at the moment, Irfan chose the Australian camp to be the one. The reason for picking Australia was their strong bowling lineup. However, he reiterated that the kind of bowlers India has at the moment, they have a great chance of exploiting the English conditions in the tournament.

“Given all these facts, I am very hopeful that the Indian team can repeat the performances of the 2013 edition of the Champions Trophy. That was a piece of history that I was also part of and I feel that the Indian squad of today are strong contenders to become champions again in 2017. Apart from India, the Australian squad seems like a very strong unit and I am quite impressed by their bowling attack,” Irfan Pathan said.

“But let me come back to India’s chances and say that based on my knowledge of English conditions where the ball swings a lot, the Indian bowlers are very strong in that aspect of the game and that makes India a very strong unit,” he added further.