'India can field three international teams at the same time' : Kamran Akmal in awe of India's bench strength

Former Pakistan cricketer Kamran Akmal is mighty pleased with India's bench strength and believes that the 'Men in Blue' can field three international teams at the same time. While A grade Indian players will take on England in five-match Test series, a team of white-ball specialists will lock horns with Sri Lanka in three ODIs and five T20Is at the same time, reflecting the depth in the Indian team.

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Akmal explained that BCCI's continuous efforts to improve grassroots cricket is paying dividend now. He also credited Rahul Dravid for shaping up the careers of many young Indian cricketers.

"Full credit to India's mindset. Two teams will be playing at a time soon, one in England and one in Sri Lanka. Their cricket culture is so strong that they can field three international teams at the same time. This is because they have made no compromises at the grassroot level," Akmal said on his YouTube channel.

"Rahul Dravid has been working with the BCCI for seven-eight years I think, and look where he has taken Indian cricket. Dravid has readied players for international cricket at the grass-root level. Then, in the Indian team, Ravi Shastri has guided them really well as head coach."

The wicket-keeper batsman was amused to see the number of leaders India have in the team and added that they can defeat Sri Lanka even if they send a C grade team to the Island.

"As captain, first MS Dhoni and now Virat Kohli have carried the team brilliantly. In between, when Kohli was resting, Rohit Sharma took over. Look at the captaincy options they have. If Rohit is injured, then they have KL Rahul. They are not affected even if big players are unavailable," Akmal added. "Even if India sends a C team to Sri Lanka they will win. The Lankans recently lost to Bangladesh."