Former Australian skipper Michael Clarke said that Team India has taken a huge risk with the spin-reliant squad they have picked for the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup and they are the favourites in the tournament because of the preparations they have done leading up to the competition.
The ICC T20 World Cup will be played in the West Indies and the USA from June 1 to 29. The Men in Blue will play against Bangladesh in their only warm-up game on June 1 at Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York.
Speaking in ESPN's Around the Wicket programme, Clarke said, "I think India has taken a risk with the squad they have picked -- heavily reliant on spin, very different from Australia. But in the conditions that I have played in the Caribbean, I think how you play spin is going to be a huge part of whether you succeed or not. India is the biggest threat for me with regards to who is going to win the World Cup."
"If you look at the favourites for the World Cup it has got to be India just because of the amount of cricket they have played, their preparation has been outstanding. Conditions are different to India but there are a lot of similarities so the players would be used to that," the former Aussie skipper added.
Leading up to the tournament, India played a total of eight bilateral series against New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Australia, Afghanistan, England, South Africa, Ireland and West Indies, winning seven of them. They only lost a series against West Indies 3-2. They also secured a gold medal in the cricket tournament at the Asian Games in Hangzhou last year. Across all bilateral series since the team's loss to England in the semi-finals of T20 WC 2022 in Australia, India has played 24 games, winning 18 and losing just six.
India will start their T20 World Cup campaign on June 5 against Ireland at the newly constructed Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York.
Meanwhile, the most-awaited blockbuster clash between India and Pakistan will take place on June 9. They will later play tournament co-hosts USA (June 12) and Canada (June 15) to wrap up their Group A matches.
India will be aiming to win their first T20 WC title since they won the inaugural edition of the tournament back in 2007 in South Africa. In the last edition held in Australia in 2022, India lost to England by 10 wickets in the semi-finals.
