Former Australia pacer Brett Lee feels Indian team should make in-form batsman KL Rahul The “pillar” around which its innings is built to ease the pressure on the captain Virat Kohli During the T20 World Cup to be held in UAE this month.
Lee believes the Men in Blue, who won the inaugural T20 World Cup in 2007, are strong contenders to win the tournament starting Sunday. India will start its campaign against Pakistan on 24 October.
“EnglandThey are always a big threat because of the team they have and the experience they have. But, for me, India is the favourite,” Lee told ‘foxsports.com.au’.
“You think of India’s dominance in all formats, but because of the Indian Premier League, young players are also coming in, they still have some good pace and their top order can be unstoppable,” he added. .
The 44-year-old Rahul, who is in good standing with the Willows in the second leg of the IPL, picked up 295 runs in six matches for Punjab Kings to become the leading run-scorer in the World Cup.
“I have backed KL Rahul to score the most runs in the competition. I think KL Rahul coming out of a great IPL is the pillar that people can build around him because it puts pressure on Kohli if Rahul is scoring runs. “
“It allows Kohli to just play his natural game. And obviously with Kohli and the captaincy, this is probably his last crack, so he would like to go higher.
The former pacer feels that the stylish Suryakumar Yadav, who made a stellar debut with the white ball this year, is the next big thing in Indian cricket.
“You talk about high, Suryakumar Yadav, he is the next best thing for India.
“India will definitely be one of the top picks and can definitely win this thing,” Lee reiterated.
However, he feels that Australia, which have performed poorly in the shortest format of the game recently, have picked it as the best team and can challenge India for the title.
“I think this is probably one of the best squads we have.”
“I am very patriotic, I want Australia to win and I think they can win, but India will definitely be in the final and I think Australia have their best chance,” Lee said.
India and Australia will face-off in the practice match to be held in Dubai on October 20.
.