England’s wicket-keeper batsman Jos Buttler believes India are going to one of the biggest favourites for the upcoming T20 World Cup as a host nation.
The Virat Kohli-led has a potent team and they know how to make the most of their own conditions.
India has been consistent in all three formats of the game and they are always a force to reckon with in their own conditions. The Men in Blue will aim to make the best use of their own conditions in the T20 World Cup and go all the way.
The last T20 World Cup was hosted by India in 2016 but the hosts’ journey had ended when they had lost to eventual winners West Indies in the semi-final at Wankhede, Mumbai. Thus, the Indian team will look to be at their best.
“Going into World Cups, you probably look at hosts nations one especially as strong as India who are going to be favourites for that tournament,” Buttler said during a media interaction on Tuesday. “There are many excellent teams, in the last few World Cups hosts nations have performed very well. India is of course strong in every format and T20 is no different and especially playing at home I see India as the favoruites.”
Meanwhile, the upcoming five-match T20I series between India and England will be a perfect opportunity for both teams to gear up for the upcoming T20I showpiece. Buttler feels it is a perfect chance for England to get used to the Indian conditions and the series will help them when they will play the T20 World Cup.
“It’s vital for us to play and hopefully you wanna win that series and take that confidence and gel together as a group and have that clarity ahead of the World Cup. So, it’s a fantastic opportunity for us as a side to be playing against India in World Cup conditions,” he said.
In fact, it is reported that the final of the T20 World Cup could take place at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad. As all the five matches of the upcoming series will take place at the same venue, it will be a great opportunity for the visitors to get used to conditions.
“This is a great benefit for us. Being here and to play in Ahmedabad in the brand new stadium which may play a big part in the World Cup and no one has played here before. So it’s a big advantage for us to learn about conditions,” Buttler said.
The first T20I will take place on 12th March.
