As ICC World Cup 2023 edges closer with each passing day, former India head coach Ravi Shastri has explained the reason behind Team India’s failure to win ICC competitions in recent years.
India will be hosting the World Cup this year and will be one of the favorites to win the title. The Men in Blue will be desperate to put an end to recent failures in the ICC tournaments. India have not won an ICC title since MS Dhoni led them to glory in the 2013 Champions Trophy.
ICC World Cup 2023 is scheduled to begin in October. India will play only two more ODI series before launching their World Cup campaign. They will be playing a three-match ODI series against West Indies followed by the Asia Cup before taking part in the marquee event.
Ravi Shastri on India’s failures:
Talking about India’s failure to win global tournaments in recent times, Ravi Shastri pointed out the lack of reliable left-handed batsmen in the team. During an interview with The Week, the former India allrounder was asked if the opening pair of Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill is confirmed for the World Cup.
With Rishabh Pant out of action after the car accident, India do not have too many reliable options. The likes of Yashasvi Jaiswal and Ishan Kishan are good options but it will be interesting to see whether the selectors show faith in the youngsters or not. Ravi Shastri said that India need at least two left-hand batters in the top six.
“No, that is going to be a challenge. You will have to see closer to the event. Form again becomes important. You need to strike the right balance. Do you think a left-hander will make a difference at the top? It does not have to be opening, but in the top three or four. You have to weigh all those options. Ideally, in the top six, I would like to see two left-handers,” he said.
“Whenever you have done well [left-handers contributed]. In 2011, you had [Gautam] Gambhir, Yuvraj [Singh] and [Suresh] Raina. Go back to 1974… [Alvin] Kallicharran, [Roy] Fredericks, [Clive] Lloyd…. The same in 1979. The 1983 team was the only one that did not have a left-hander, but that whole tournament was against all odds.
“In 1987, Australia had enough… they had [Allan] Border at the top, they had another two or three, down the order. In 1996 Sri Lanka proved it again, with [Sanath] Jayasuriya, [Arjuna] Ranatunga, [Asanka] Gurusinha. And then Australia, with the Gilchrists and the Haydens. England have it now. That mix and balance has to be created,” he added.
When asked who are the left-handed options India could look into ahead of the World Cup, Shastri said: “You have Ishan Kishan. In the wicketkeeping department, you have Sanju. But the left-handers, you have Jaiswal, Tilak Varma. There is enough left-handed talent that can replace any senior player at the moment.”
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