Kiren Rijiju expresses faith in India ahead of team's first WC match

Union Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju on Wednesday said that he has 'full faith' in the Indian cricket team, who will be playing their first match in this edition of ICC Men's Cricket World Cup on Wednesday.

"I have full faith in Indian players, they have done a lot of preparation. So, I want to congratulate the whole Indian cricket team and I hope the World Cup, which we had won earlier, we will bring that World Cup again in India," Rijiju told ANI.

India will compete against South Africa, who are displaying a woeful performance in the tournament as they lost both their previous 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.

Whereas India are one of the favourites in this edition of the quadrennial tournament as the team is being 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.

Therefore, it will be interesting to see whether South Africa will be able to change their fortunes from now on or India will justify their favourite tag.

India will compete with South Africa at the Rose Bowl cricket ground on June 5.

-ANI