India capable of winning any tournament they play: Brian Lara

NEW DELHI (Agencies): West Indies batting legend Brian Lara has said that the Indian cricket team is “definitely capable” of winning any tournament they take part in.

The Men in Blue have been consistent with their performances, making it to the semis and finals of most ICC tournaments, however have yet to claim themselves as victors. Their last win was the 2013 Champions Trophy where the side led by MS Dhoni defeated England to seal their win.

“I think they are definitely capable of winning all tournaments that they play. I think what Virat Kohli and company and the Indian team has to appreciate is the fact that everybody sort of target India,” Lara said in an interview to India Today.

“Everybody knows that some point of time one team is going to play that important match against India. If it’s a quarter-final, semi-final and final,” Lara said.

The legenday batsman, who holds a 15-year-old record for the highest individual score in Test cricket, chose the Indian skipper over Australia’s star batsman Steve Smith to break his record of 400 runs.

“It would be difficult for Steve Smith to do it batting at No 4 for Australia. He is a great player but he doesn’t dominate. You know a player like David Warner for sure,” he said.

“A player like (Virat) Kohli, who gets in early and gets set. He is a very attacking player. Rohit Sharma on his day. So they have got quite a group of players who can do so,” Lara added. The Kohli-led side will be heading to Australia in October for the T20 World Cup.