Kapil Dev picks his favorite for the Champions Trophy, and it is not India

World Cup winning skipper, Kapil Dev picks his favorite for the Champions Trophy next month. The legendary all-rounder picked the hosts, England and not the defending champions India as the team to beat.

Kapil Dev, who famously lifted India’s first World Cup in England, has claimed that the weather conditions in England will play a huge role in deciding the eventual winner. England will have this to their advantage as the other teams will take some time in getting used to the conditions.

“For the first time in 40 years, England have given me the impression that they are producing players for one-day cricket. They have a ruthless approach. They have Jason Roy, Jos Buttler, Joe Root, Eoin Morgan and Ben Stokes. They can win matches on their own. That’s the sort of team we had…we had Dhoni, Sachin, Yuvraj, Sourav Ganguly, Virender Sehwag,” he said.

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“If I look at the Indian team on paper, it looks fantastic. My heart says yes but my cricketing brain says no. It looks like India have chances, but again in one-day cricket, you don’t need big names, but a big contribution that very day.”

England are most pundits’ favorite, as they have finally found a team that is stacked with match winners. In Joe Root, they have one of the best batsman in world, who is aptly supported by the likes of Butler, Morgan and Roy. And now in Ben Stokes, they have one of the most exciting all -rounders in the world, who could win you a match all on his own.

So yeah, England are looking really really good.