In the ever-growing T20 cricket landscape, India boasts the richest and most-watched league in the world. Yet all that investment and attention has not translated into international success for India’s national team.
Rohit Sharma’s India squad travel to the T20 World Cup in the US and the Caribbean in search of a second title to end a long drought.
Undoubtedly, the Indian Premier League (IPL) is flush with cash and talent, attracting the best cricketers from across the world.
Photo: AFP
However, since the advent of the IPL, India have not lifted the World Cup trophy.
After winning the inaugural T20 World Cup in South Africa in 2007, India have only reached one more final — losing to Sri Lanka in 2014.
The title drought crosses formats, too. India last won an International Cricket Council title in 2013 — the Champions Trophy in England. They last lifted the Cricket World Cup in the 50-over format in 2011.
Last year was an exceptional one in that sense — India lost the World Test Championship final to Australia in England and, a few months later, also lost the 50-over World Cup final to Australia, this time on home soil.
That caused anguish in a cricket-mad country of 1.4 billion, considering India were on a 10-0 winning streak and hot favorites going into the ODI final.
Seven months later, Sharma and star batter Virat Kohli are leading the campaign in what in will probably be their last T20 tournament in India’s blue.
Sharma has been a part of every India squad at the T20 World Cup. Kohli made his debut in the 2012 edition, making this his sixth attempt at the title.
Kohli has scored 1,141 runs at an average of 81.50 and a strike rate of 131.30 in his 27 games at the tournament. Sharma has scored 963 runs in 39 games at a strike rate of 127.88.
Both players missed all of India’s T20 internationals between the 2022 semi-final loss in Australia and January, leading to some speculation that they would miss out on the World Cup starting on June 1.
That was dispelled by Board of Control for Cricket in India secretary Jay Shah and chief selector Ajit Agarkar. Now, there will be big focus on their contributions in terms of runs and strike rate.
Sharma only managed 417 runs for the Mumbai Indians in the club’s unsuccessful IPL campaign this year, while Kohli topped the run charts for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru with 741 runs in 15 matches, averaging 61.75, but his strike rate earlier in the season was criticized by some TV broadcast analysts.
In a news conference to confirm the India squad, Agarkar brushed off any concerns regarding Kohli’s strike rate.
“There’s a difference between IPL and international cricket,” Agarkar said. “You need experience as the pressure of a World Cup game is different. You [only] try to take positives from what is happening in the IPL.”
On the bowling front, pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah is to lead an attack that can call on four spinners, including left-arm all-rounders Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel. Wrist-spinners Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzendra Chahal complete the lineup.
“I asked for four spinners,” Sharma said. “Most of our matches will start at 10-11am [and] we expect all-rounders to do a job for us. It gives us a variety of combinations to explore depending on the opposition.”
India begins their World Cup campaign against Ireland on June 5 then face Pakistan in New York on June 9 in what could be the highlight of the group stage.
India play the US on June 12 and Canada on June 15.
While it is a seemingly straight-forward road for India in the first round, the tension to end a prolonged title drought will grow once the Super Eight stage starts in the West Indies.
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