Published: Aug 13, 2023, 12:38 PM (IST)
Edited: Aug 13, 2023, 12:52 PM (IST)
THE INDIAN cricket team has struggled to grab the ICC trophy since MS Dhoni led them to a win in the Champions Trophy in 2013. The team does well in the league stage and frequently makes it into the knockout round but choke to bow out of the tournament.
This has been a consistent trend that has left the experts baffled given the quality India have in the team. India came close to winning the ICC trophy in 2017 but lost to Pakistan in the final. The team made it to the semifinal of the 2019 World Cup but got thrashed by nemesis New Zealand. The Rohit Sharma-led side lost to Australia in the WTC final recently which was their second consecutive defeat in the WTC final.
Former Pakistan cricketer Rashid Latif spoke at length about India’s struggle in ICC events and cited internal issues as the main reason for the team’s poor show. Latif highlighted Virat Kohli’s sacking and said it seems that the management and captain are not on the same page. Latif, however, was optimistic that India will end their trophy drought soon.
“Virat Kohli had a direction and he wanted to win, but he was sacked. The team couldn’t perform due to internal issues. They couldn’t perform in ICC tournaments because, maybe, the captain didn’t get the desired players. Or maybe he got, but they weren’t used. Now, there are two big events — Asia Cup in Sri Lanka and the World Cup at home. Their team is still pretty good, they will get a no.4,” Latif said on his Youtube Channel.
Latif also said that the lack of runs from the top order has hurt the team badly.
“The problem begins when the top-3 gets dismissed quickly. If the top-3 plays out the 25-30 overs, they will win easily. Their issue is the top-3 isn’t performing how it used to. They could’ve brought back Shikhar Dhawan, you had made him captain less than a year ago during a tour. You had players, you threw them here and there.”
