"India's allround ability and depth stand out"-Rahul Dravid

The former Indian captain was speaking in Mumbai, for the Laureus Sport for Good programme 'Magic Bus', in his capacity as a member of its World Sports academy. Having watched Dhoni's men from close quarters, Dravid felt that the 'formidable' Indian team stood a great chance of performing well on home soil.
He added "I think India would make the top four, but after that, it's just a question of who has a better day in the semifinal and final... There's a good crop of players coming through. I think it's going to be an exciting 24 months for the Indian team. I think the good thing about this Indian team and this T20 World Cup is they have good depth, they have good allround depth at the moment," 
                       He was also impressed with India's depth, with players like allrounder, Hardik Pandya and left-arm orthodox spinner Pawan Negi, showing plenty of ability with the bat. "Players like Hardik Pandya and Pawan Negi, it just shows that they have got sort of batting right down to No. 8, 9. They have got six or seven bowlers to call upon in Indian conditions that they can use.So I think, it gives them sort of a good range of allround ability. Then with Ashish Nehra bowling well up front and Bumrah bowling well at the death, they have actually got the two areas, which India were struggling, in covered. This is a pretty formidable side at the moment and I think the allround ability of this team is what excites me,I think, it is a very exciting time for Indian cricket at the moment. The results in One-Day and Twenty20 cricket have been really good over the last couple of years or so and it has been reflected in the ranking, as well," 
                          But he was also cautious about the team's likely challengers. "Teams like Australia have got good depth again in the side. A lot of players have played in subcontinent conditions through the IPL, so they have that experience of playing in India. I think playing T20 cricket in India for a lot of the teams and players is not new. They have played on all of these grounds. They know the conditions very, very well."

                "South Africa with the likes of AB de Villiers, Quinton de Kock and Hashim Amla, they are always going to be a dangerous team. The West Indies as well, match winners, power hitters, all the way through. And then the subcontinent teams, Pakistan and Sri Lanka will probably have the quality spinners, and if conditions do suit them they can be a handful as well," he summed up.