London: India's remarkable reservoir of talent and formidable depth within their squad makes them strong contenders to win the upcoming T20 World Cup, feels former England skipper Eoin Morgan. India have gone with almost the same squad as they had in the last edition of the T20 World Cup while adding the likes of young Yashasvi Jaiswal, Yuzvendra Chahal and Sanju Samson.
"The strongest side even with injuries throughout the tournament is India. Their strength and depth is absolutely incredible," Morgan said on Sky Sports.
"And it's almost probably, we're talking about who the players that were missed out in their squad of 15 because of the quality that they possess. They are favourites for me, the quality they have on paper, if they produce it I think they can beat anybody quite well in the tournament," he added.
India were spoilt for choice as they were forced to leave the likes of Shubman Gill and KL Rahul.
"The only decision I would have had differently and if I was selecting the squad, would have Shubman Gill over Yashasvi Jaiswal. I have played alongside him, I know how he thinks. I know how he works. I feel he's a future leader on that side and I think in big moments, in World Cups the more leaders the better. Even if he's sitting on the sideline, you still need inspiration from here and there, a sense of positivity."
India heads into almost every tournament as favourites but they haven't won an ICC title in over a decade. The last trophy the 'Men in Blue' lifted was the Champions Trophy in 2013. In the last edition of the T20 World Cup, they were hammered by 10 wickets by eventual winners England in the semifinals in Adelaide.
"I think they can (win), because they have go to a stage now where Adelaide would hurt, recently losing the (ODI) World Cup at home to Australia in front of 1,25,000 Indian fans," he added.
"The spinner will come into the game, the level of batsmanship will come into the game if the wickets slow down like we think. But also that excellence in power-hitting is the point of difference for me. Shivam Dube has to play, I think he'll set this World Cup alight."
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