Sunil Gavaskar, a former India captain, has revealed the key distinctions between the current Indian squad and the World Cup-winning Indian sides of 1983 and 2011. The Men in Blue will be aiming for their third ODI World Cup title, which kicks off on October 5th in Ahmedabad.
Rohit Sharma will have the opportunity the join the likes of legendary Indian skipper Kapil Dev and MS Dhoni by winning the coveted ODI World Cup title.
Earlier in Asia Cup 2023, the Indian skipper joined the likes of Azharuddin and Dhoni as the third Indian captain to take home more than one Asia Cup title and would be thrilled to lead the team in front of the home crowd.
Speaking on India Today, Sunil Gavaskar opened up about the differences between the squads for the ICC World Cup 2023 and the World Cups in 1983 and 2011. The former Indian opener feels that both the 1983 and 2011 teams contained world-class all-rounders in their respective squads.
“I think what those teams had was not only world-class batters and world-class bowlers, but also world-class all-rounders. They had batters in the batting lineup who could come and bowl a bit. They had down the order, bowlers who could bat a bit. And that makes a big difference,” Sunil Gavaskar said.
Former Indian skipper Kapil Dev played a role in India’s 1983 World Cup-winning campaign. Meanwhile, Yuvraj Singh was an exceptional all-rounder for India during the 2011 World Cup, putting on outstanding performances with both the bat and the ball, alongside Suresh Raina and Yusuf Pathan.
It Also Makes The Fielding Side A Little Bit Disappointed – Sunil Gavaskar
Sunil Gavaskar continued by explaining how all-rounders can change the game’s complexities at crucial moments. He believes that runs scored batting in the lower order would be annoying for the fielding side and that tailender must contribute with the bat.
“Because at the end of the day, you look at maybe the last 5 or 6 overs, when your no. 8,9,10, 11 are batting, they can add 30-35 runs. What it does is push up your total, whatever your total is. It also makes the fielding side a little bit disappointed because they are hoping to dismiss your 9,10,11 in a jiffy but they don’t do that”.
“So you go in the changing room with the buoyant feeling that we have got these extra 30-35 runs and that can make a difference,” Sunil Gavaskar concluded.
It should be noted that the majority of the regular batters, including Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, and Suryakumar Yadav, are unable to assist in bowling. The form of Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja would be crucial for the team’s success in the ODI World Cup 2023.