In the forthcoming T20 World Cup, Brett Lee has ruled the Men in Blue as the number one title challenger. Former Australia paceman Brett Lee believes that in the 2021 T20 World Cup, Team India should construct their batting around KL Rahul, saying that this would relieve some burden on Virat Kohli, who will be heading the team for the final time in the shorter version of the game.
Rahul's recent success in the Indian Premier League, where the Punjab Kings skipper collected 295 runs from six appearances in the second leg, justified Lee's selection. Rahul, according to the former Australia bowler, maybe the tournament's leading run-scorer.
"I've backed KL Rahul to get the most runs in the competition. I think KL Rahul coming off a great IPL, he's the pillar that the guys can build around him because it takes the pressure off Kohli if Rahul is scoring runs," Lee said, as mentioned in a sports news article.
"It allows Kohli to just play his natural game. And obviously, with Kohli and the captaincy, it's probably his last crack at it so he'll want to go out on a high," he added.
Suryakumar Yadav of the Mumbai Indians was also named the "next great thing for India" by Lee. When asked about India's prospects of winning the tournament, veteran cricketer Lee remarked that England has one of the strongest squads in terms of experience, but ruled out the Men in Blue as the top contender.
"England, they're always a big threat because of the squad they've got and the experience they have. But, for me, India are the favourites," said Lee.
"You think about India dominating all formats but also because of the Indian Premier League, the young guys coming through, they've got some real good pace now as well and their top order can be unstoppable," he added.
On October 24, India will kick off their World Cup campaign against arch-rivals Pakistan.