There’s depth in the current Indian squad and home advantage gives the Manpreet Singh-led side an edge going into the Hockey World Cup, feels Baljit Singh Saini.

The World Cup, to be held in Bhubaneswar, begins on Wednesday.

“The Indian team has been practising for quite some time at the Kalinga Stadium, so they will be having a fair idea of the surface and work it to their advantage.

“Some of the seniors are missing, but their substitutes are doing a pretty decent job. The youngsters, I think, are good enough. So, there’s depth in the Indian squad,” the former city-based India midfielder, who played for Calcutta Customs and Howrah Union in the BHA League, said from Jalandhar.

“This team has done well in the previous tournaments too, which means they are on track.”

Baljit feels that Manpreet is the right man to lead the side. “Manpreet has the experience in the midfield.

“The good thing about Manpreet is that he has a cool head on his shoulders. Players respect him and look up to him, while he also has good camaraderie with the coach (Harendra Singh).

“He will also be assisted by the likes of Akashdeep (Singh), Mandeep (Singh), Varun Kumar and Lalit Upadhyay.”

Talking about the strong teams like Australia, Germany and the Netherlands, Baljit feels each one of them stand a fair chance to win the title. But Pakistan, by no means, should be looked at as a weak team, he warned.

“These teams — Australia, Germany, Netherlands, England and Belgium — are capable of everything. There’s not much to separate them. Also, the game is faster and has become more practical nowadays, so a lot depends on who plays well on a given day.

“But don’t count Pakistan out. I don’t think they will be under pressure because they have played so many times in India earlier. They are familiar with the conditions and face no language problem as well.

“They are the dark horse… Not at all a weak side.”