Virat Kohli, Aaron Finch and Eoin Morgan choose their favourites to win the World Cup title

After four years of waiting for the big event to arrive, the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2019 is finally here, all set to be hosted by England and Wales. The warm-up fixtures have begun, with Pakistan and Afghanistan clashing on Friday at the Bristol County Ground, and the main competition kicks off in six days, on May 30 when South Africa and England meet at The Oval in London. The captains of the ten participating teams gathered at the Film Shed in London’s trendy East End ahead of the big tournament.

All 10 captains were asked about their top pick for the team that lifts the title. Not just the captains, but all fans and analysts have agreed that the hosts England, the defending champions Australia and the two-time World Cup winner India are the top three selections and favourites to lift the title. Overall, the hot choice turned out to be England, who have been playing amazingly well in limited-overs since their World Cup 2015 debacle.

The Captains speak

Amongst these 10 best of the best teams, the captains of the top three were asked to name who according to them would win the World Cup. The Australian captain was not at all diplomatic in his crystal clear answer that the hosts are the favourites this time. “I think, England have been in great form over the last couple of years and along with India, they’ve probably been the standout performers. So you’d have to say England are definitely the favourites,” Finch said.

Right from playing for Ireland in the 2007 World Cup England, to lead the English side in the 2019 edition, Eoin Morgan has come a long way. In the past four years, England has played top quality Cricket and transformed into a force in limited-overs under the leadership of the 32-year-old. “I don’t think anyone is head and shoulders above anyone else. These are the ten best teams in the world, it will be extraordinarily competitive and some quality cricket will be played so we are really looking forward to it, ” said Morgan. 

“Every captain sitting here would lose their left leg to play in a World Cup final at the home of cricket. It’s something every one of us would have dreamed of as a kid. We are as best prepared as we can be. We just want to play that first game now,” he added.

When Virat Kohli was asked the same question, the Indian skipper gave a more holistic answer. While upping India and lauding the team’s fanbase, he agreed with Finch’s statement. However, Kohli emphasized on what Morgan said.

Kohli was quoted saying, “The way I look at it, there’s always going to be a huge fan-base for us anywhere we play in the world. But I have to agree with Aaron, I think England is probably – in their conditions – the most strong side in this tournament, but I also agree with Morgs, that all ten teams are so well balanced and so strong, and the fact that this is a tournament where we have to play everyone once, makes it all the more challenging. I think that’s going to be the best thing about this tournament, I see this as probably one of the most competitive World Cups that people are going to see.”