Virat Kohli insists India have improved since Champions Trophy disappointment

Experience will be key for the 1983 and 2011 winners, who begin their campaign against South Africa on Wednesday

India captain Virat Kohli believes his side has improved significantly from the one which lost in the Champions Trophy final to Pakistan in 2017 ahead of the start of their World Cup campaign.

Despite the six-wicket defeat at The Oval two years ago, the Men in Blue remain one of the chief contenders to scoop the title this summer.

And Kohli is confident that with the addition of wrist spinners Yuzendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav they have the perfect blend to become world champions for a third time.

"We have plugged a few areas that we needed to since then," he explained.

"We have brought in wrist-spinners to take wickets in the middle overs and that has been a reason for a lot of our success in the last couple of years.

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"So, from that point of view, we are a stronger side when you compare it to the Champions Trophy side."

Eight years on from their last World Cup triumph on home soil, Kohli is one of only two survivors from the squad which prevailed alongside wicket-keeper batsman MS Dhoni.

Between the pair they have played in over 350 one-day internationals for India, while four other players have over a century of outings including vice-captain Rohit Sharma, Ravi Jadeja, Shikhar Dhawan and Bhuvneshwar Kumar.

And believes that know-how will prove crucial to dealing with the pressure of a World Cup, which starts against South Africa in Southampton.

"We need to bring all our experience to the play tomorrow to be able to make right decisions under pressure situations compared to the opposition," added Kohli.

"And the team that makes better decisions is going to win in a high-pressure tournament like the World Cup."

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