Indian World Cup winner Sunil Gavaskar feels that the comeback of key players to the Indian team will lift the chances of the Men in Blue going into the Asia Cup 2023 and ODI World Cup 2023 and reckons that the all-rounders are important in the team’s success in the multi-nation events.
Rohit Sharma brought a breath of fresh air to Indian cricket, following the exit of Virat Kohli post-2021 T20 World Cup. Now, he has a chance to become the third Indian captain to lift the ODI World Cup after legendary Kapil Dev and MS Dhoni, and the Men in Blue will be desperate to win the championship on home soil after 12 long years.
Speaking on the sidelines of a promotional event, Sunil Gavaskar spoke about the importance of all-rounders in the team stating the example of England’s recent victory in the 2022 T20 World Cup, where they had many multi-dimensional cricketers in the team and reckons that a captain is judged by the number of big trophies he win for the country and believes that the continental event will be a good testing ground for the injured players.
“You look at England who won last year’s T20 World Cup, look at the all-rounders they had. So, all-rounders are the key element, At the end of the day you are judged by the number of trophies you have won and the number of wins you have. Winning these two tournaments will make him one of India’s greatest skippers.”
“It is important… it will be more a testing ground for those who are coming back from three months lay-offs. Hopefully, they will come through; it will solve a lot of problems,” Sunil Gavaskar said.
The last time the ODI World Cup was played in Asia, India won the tournament by defeating Sri Lanka in the final on home soil in 2011 and the Rohit Sharma-led will be pumped to win the championship on home soil after 12 long years as this could be final World Cup for many senior players.
They Have Had Enough Rest, They Are Refreshed And Raring To Go..- Sunil Gavaskar
Sunil Gavaskar feels that the Indian team has been preparing well for the Asia Cup 2023, as the players have been having enough rest before the continental event and asserted that the Indian team requires some luck on the knockout stage to win the forthcoming mega-events.
“(Overall preparation is) as good as any. They have had enough rest, and enough practice, and they are all refreshed and raring to go, We have got immense talent, (but) in the knockout stage, you need a little bit of luck on the day. If you look at our situation in the knockout stages where we have lost, we had ill luck just about every time,” Sunil Gavaskar added.
The Men in Blue crumbled under pressure in the crunch moments of the game as they could not go one step further in the big tournaments. The team fell short of the title, despite doing well in the league stages of the tournament, as they lost the Champions trophy final in 2017, the Semifinals of 2015 and 2019 ODI World Cup, and the WTC final in 2021 and 2023.