India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni on Friday said he has a balanced squad at his disposal and is confident of retaining the ICC Twenty20 World title, beginning in England next week.
"If you look at our side you will see that it really suits the Twenty20 format. We have specialist bowlers and the best part is that we have got part-timers who did well for their respective franchises in the IPL. It gives the skipper plenty of options to use them at different points in the game and you don't have to rely on the specialist bowlers at all times," Dhoni said.
India have a relatively easy task in their group matches after being pitted with minnows Bangladesh and Ireland, but Dhoni is not taking them lightly.
"We can't afford to relax. If you remember we went out of the 2007 World Cup after losing to Bangladesh. No team is a dark horse, everyone will have chances. It's just that if we have one bad day, we can be beaten by a weak team also. So every game will be important for us," he said.
The India captain said pace spearhead Zaheer Khan is expected to be fit for the opening match against Bangladesh on June 6. The left-arm pace bowler injured his bowling shoulder during the IPL when he dived to stop a boundary.
"Zaheer Khan is not one hundred per cent fit, but we hope he would be fit by the time of our first match. He is likely get fit by the 2nd or 3rd June," he said.
The 15-member Indian squad left for London on Friday afternoon.
Text: Harish Kotian in Mumbai
Video: Reuben NV
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