ICC World Cup 2019 | I think India is one of the strongest ODI teams, says Shoaib Akhtar

Pakistan bowling great Shoaib Akhtar is well-renowned for his pre-match analysis videos on Youtube. Ahead of the mouth-watering tie between India and South Africa on Wednesday, the 43-year-old gave his opinion of the Indian team as he lavished praise on the likes of Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni and other members of the Indian team.

"Personally, I think India is one of the strongest One-day sides in international cricket at the moment. India has a passionate leader in Virat Kohli, a strong bowling attack and a strong set of spinners too. India have formed that perfect equation in the last 2-3 years which is capable of beating any team in the world," Akhtar said in a video he posted on Youtube.

The former KKR player singled out India batsman - KL Rahul - for special praise as he claimed the latter has great potential and could go on and become the next leader of the national team after the end of the Virat Kohli era.

"KL Rahul is my personal favourite and I feel he can follow in the footsteps of Virat Kohli and become one of the best batsmen in the world. When I met him a while ago in Sharjah, I asked him to never lose focus even he is dropped from the national team. I have great belief in the boy as I see him as the next big thing in Indian cricket after Kohli’s era comes to an end," Akhtar added.