Most challenging World Cup, says Kohli

India are very confident about their form, captain Virat Kohli said before his squad depart for the 10-nation World Cup in England and Wales starting next week.

"Personally, I think this is probably the most challenging World Cup of all the three that I've been part of, because of the format," the 30-year-old Kohli told reporters in Mumbai ahead of the team's departure.

The World Cup will use a revised format to decide the semifinalists, with the teams all playing each other in the round-robin stage.

Kohli said consistency was the only way to make the semifinals. "Everyone has to be at their best game intensity from the first match onwards and you don't have any room for complacency.

"That's why it's the World Cup, the most important tournament in the world," said Kohli, who compared the "intensity" to competing in football's English Premier League or Spain's La Liga.

England launch the tournament against South Africa at the Oval in London on May 30.

"We go into the World Cup feeling very balanced and confident. All our players have been in great form in the IPL," Kohli said referring to the Indian Premier League which ended this month.

The India squad will travel to England in their quest for a third World Cup title. They begin their campaign against South Africa in Southampton on June 5. "Any team can beat any team ... The gap is much closer now between teams," India coach Ravi Shastri said.

Meanwhile, Kohli says cricket fans should expect a run bonanza at the World Cup.

"In ICC tournaments the pitches are going to be very good and it's summer in the UK. We expect high-scoring games," Kohli said.

England beat Pakistan 4-0 in a five-match warmup series with nearly every game seeing innings of 350 plus on grounds that will be used for the World Cup. Kohli insisted, however, that World Cup pressure will bring down the totals.

"A bilateral series compared to a World Cup is very different, so you might see lot of 260-270 kind of games and teams successfully defending it because of the pressure factor," said the skipper of India - one of the favourites alongside England and Australia.

Two-time winners India, who start against South Africa in Southampton on June 5, feel they have a strong chance with a potent pace bowling attack led by Jasprit Bumrah.

India have some worries over their spinners Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal, who were less impressive in the IPL.