INDIA BALANCED: ZAHEER KHAN

Former India pace spearhead Zaheer Khan felt that India are a much stronger and balanced side than the side that won in 2013 and said that they would be the team to beat at this edition of the ICC Champions Trophy in England.

The eighth edition of the tournament is being played in England and Wales with matches at three venues — London (The Oval), Birmingham (Edgbaston) and Cardiff (Sophia Gardens).

Hosts England, runners-up in the previous edition, take on Bangladesh in the tournament opener in London on Thursday, while India begin their title defence against none other than fierce rivals Pakistan at Edgbaston on Sunday.

And Zaheer, who played 200 ODIs and 92 Tests for India, said that the current squad was a wellrounded one and added that it was all about peaking at the right time. “From the last Champions Trophy to this edition, they are a much stronger side now,” Zaheer told the Khaleej Times on Wednesday.

Zaheer will be among the quartet of pundits — Pakistan’s Waqar Younis, West Indies’ Darren Sammy and England’s Michael Vaughan — in Dubai, for OSN’s exclusive coverage of the tournament. “The bowling attack is looking more balanced, more experienced. You also have Jasprit Bumrah bowling well with his yorkers and the variations he has for the shorter formats.

“You have someone like Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who has picked up so many wickets. He has got that confidence and he is very consistent with his line and length. If you look at the batting, you have the likes of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, who are seasoned players now in this format. So, it is looking like a more balanced team and it is just about peaking at the right time, and gaining that winning momentum early in the tournament is definitely going to go a long way,” he added.