Joining the chorus, New Zealand T20 skipper Kane Williamson picked India as the favourites to win the ICC World Twenty20, which commenced today with the qualifiers.
"India will probably be the favourites for this tournament. But all teams will come here believing they can win this tournament," said Williamson at the pre-tournament media conference after the team's first training session at the Wankhede Stadium here.
"I think being the favourites, they are certainly a team that will be tough to beat (in) the competition. They have got a number of players who can win the matches. That's part and parcel of having a good short format side and so that's certainly what the Indian side have," Williamson added.
New Zealand will take on the hosts in their campaign opener on March 15 in Nagpur and the 25-year-old batsman said it would be great to get off to a good start against the mighty Indians.
"We have a tough match first up. We will be preparing as well as we can for these conditions. It will be great to get a good start (against India), so that we can carry the momentum forward into the tournament," Williamson, who will be playing in his third World T20 tournament, said.