Former England captain Eoin Morgan believes India are the "favourites" to win the T20 World Cup and that the selectors should have chosen his former Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) teammate Shubman Gill over Yashasvi Jaiswal in the roster.
“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. “The only decision I would have had differently and if I were selecting the squad, I 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.”
However, former England captain Michael Atherton pointed out that India enters practically every tournament as favourites, but they haven't won an ICC trophy in almost a decade, and that India has only won the T20 World Cup once before the IPL was established.
“It’s also an irony because everyone talks about the IPL and how it has improved India’s T20 cricket. The irony is that the only time they have won is pre-IPL,” Atherton said.
Nasser Hussain and Atherton teased Morgan about India's T20 style of play and how they were hammered by 10 wickets by eventual champions England in the quarterfinals of the T20 World Cup in Adelaide last year. “I think they can (win) because they have to 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. The spinner will come into the game, and 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.”