Colin Ingram has expressed his support for the Proteas as they hunt a second Champions Trophy title. 

South Africa won the inaugural ICC tournament in Dhaka, Bangladesh in 1998, when it was known as the ICC Knock-Out.

Ingram, who was part of the Champions Trophy squad in 2013 when the Proteas lost by seven wickets to hosts England in the semi-final, backed his countrymen for the tournament, which kicks off on 1 June.

The Proteas are the No 1 ODI-ranked team in the world, and the 31-year-old thinks this year will be different to what he experienced.

‘I rate South Africa’s chances really highly,’ Ingram told the ICC’s official website.

‘I think we’ve got an organised side with some really big players. With the likes of guys like Quinton de Kock and AB de Villiers, I really like the brand of cricket they are playing at the moment, so I think they can do well.’

News broke on Wednesday 5 May that Ingram signed a two-year extension on his Kolpak deal with Glamorgan.

ALSO READ: Ingram signs Glamorgan contract extension

The Warriors batsman will play in the T20 Blast and Royal London One-Day Cup matches in the 2018 and 2019 seasons.

‘Obviously, my international cricket days are over now, but I still follow the side closely and I would really like to see them get off the board,’ ended Ingram.

The Proteas form part of Group B with India, Sri Lanka and Pakistan. Their opening match will take place against Sri Lanka on Saturday, 3 June at The Oval in London.

Proteas’ ICC Champions Trophy squad: Hashim Amla (Cape Cobras), Quinton de Kock – wicketkeeper (Titans), Faf du Plessis (Titans), AB de Villiers – captain (Titans), JP Duminy (Cape Cobras), David Miller (Knights), Chris Morris (Titans), Wayne Parnell (Cape Cobras), Andile Phehlukwayo (Dolphins), Kagiso Rabada (Highveld Lions), Imran Tahir (Dolphins), Dwaine Pretorius (Highveld Lions), Keshav Maharaj (Dolphins), Farhaan Behardien (Titans), Morne Morkel (Titans)

Photo: Luke Walker/Gallo Images