Ahead of India's first ICC Men's Cricket World Cup match, Former Indian cricket Kapil Dev, on Wednesday, urged the team to play with full dedication and win the premier Tournament.
"I want the team to play with their full dedication and win the World Cup," Dev told ANI.
Dev led the team during India's 1983 World Cup triumph. India defeated West Indies in the final by 43 runs. In this edition of the premier tournament, the team will be led by Virat Kohli, who atop the ICC ODI rankings.
The team also features 2011 World-cup winning MS Dhoni. Moreover, the squad includes Hardik Pandya, who was at his devastating best in Indian Premier League as he scored 402 runs in the league and hammered the fastest half-century, 17 deliveries, in the league.
Pacer Jasprit Bumrah will lead the bowling department and will get support from Bhuvneshwar Kumar to thwart opponent's batting line-up.
In the first match, India will compete against South Africa, who are displaying a woeful performance as they lost both their recent matches at the hands of England and Bangladesh.
South Africa batsman Hashim Amla did not appear in the previous game which was played against Bangladesh as he faced a blow to head during England clash and Lungi Ngidi also left the field during the second match after he sustained a hamstring injury. Moreover, Dale Steyn has also been ruled out of the premier tournament owing to his shoulder injury which will further deteriorate their performance.
Therefore, it will be interesting to see whether South Africa will manage to revive themselves or India will justify their favourite tag.
India will compete with South Africa at the Rose Bowl cricket ground on June 5.
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