It doesn’t come as a surprise that India is one of the most reckoning forces in international cricket and with the kind of firepower that they usually come to the game with, featuring the illustrious likes of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja and the list goes on and on, the team at times have looked almost invincible.
However, no matter the sheen that they have managed to put in international cricket, when it comes to the ICC events, 2013 was the last time they managed to walk away with the hallowed likes of a trophy when Dhoni and company trumped over England in the latter’s backyard to clinch the ICC Champions Trophy.
Former Indian captain, Sunil Gavaskar believes that it is high time that the Rohit-led battalion stands up now and decides to take the upcoming ICC events head on. He had a special request for the Men in Blue, especially with two World Cups in two consecutive years straddled perfectly by the WTC final (if India makes the cut) and the Asia Cup in between.
Talking to Sportstar, Gavaskar said, “When you see a champion being felicitated, you also want to be one. And when your athletes are improving their personal bests, that is when you know everything is on the right track. There are two titles that I’d like the Indian men’s team to win — one is the World Test Championship and the ODI World Cup is the other. There is, of course, the Asia Cup in between these two. If that comes back to India, nothing quite like it.”
He also spoke at length about Indian women’s defeat against Australia, adding, “Australia has been a stumbling block for quite a while. The women’s team will need that one big win like the men’s squad in 2018-19 in Australia. If the Indian women manage to get past the Aussies and go on to win the World Cup, it will be a big boost.” Only time shall reveal whether the request of the former Indian skipper is honoured or not but the chances are always on the higher side, only if India has a fully fit squad at their disposal.
