Former spinner Harbhajan Singh has tried to explain the reason behind India’s constant struggle in ICC tournaments in recent years.
While India have been a force to reckon with in bilateral series, their performance in ICC competitions has left a lot to be desired. India have not won an ICC trophy since winning the 2013 Champions Trophy under MS Dhoni’s captaincy. India have another shot at an ICC trophy in the ongoing ICC World Test Championship Final (WTC Final) against Australia at the Oval, London.
While only time will tell whether India manage to win it or not, the start has been really ominous. Australia have thoroughly dominated the first two days of the Test to put themselves in the driver’s seat. Asked to bat first, Australia finished their innings on 469 thanks to centuries from Travis Head and Steve Smith. Head scored 163 while Smith made 121.
Harbhajan Singh on India’s struggle in ICC tournaments:
In reply, India started poorly with the bat and finished day 2 of the Test on 151 for 5. At one stage, they were reeling at 71 for 4 before a 71-run stand between Ravindra Jadeja and Ajinkya Rahane stopped the rot. And as India struggle to perform well in another crucial match, Harbhajan Singh believes lack of fearlessness is the reason behind the trophy drought.
“There is nothing lacking (in terms of skills). The more you play the big games the better you get. I feel you need to play more freely in these big games. I think we have become a bit too tight. Will have to play more freely and not think about the results.
“The more you leave the players to do the job, they will do the job. If you put pressure on them that if you don’t perform well, some get dropped and some don’t (they will feel underconfident).
“The idea is to give them confidence that even if you don’t do well, give your best. That way we will probably lift a few cups. Just play fearlessly,” said Harbhajan Singh who won two World Cup titles during his illustrious career.
Meanwhile, India have finally managed to show some resistance with the bat on day three. After losing KS Bharat early, Rahane and Shardul Thakur have steadied the ship for India. At the time of writing this piece, India were on 255 for 6 with the partnership between Rahane and Thakur worth 104 runs.
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