Virat Kohli was the natural successor to the legendary MS Dhoni as India captain and he did justify his ascension leading the team to several memorable victories at home and in away conditions. Despite the impressive run, Kohli’s reign ended in a controversial fashion with Rohit Sharma taking over the reins, across formats.
While Rohit has extended India’s domination in bilateral exchanges, he’s been unable to end the ICC title drought that began after winning the 2013 Champions Trophy in England.
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And this is what has separated Dhoni’s era from the ones that followed under Kohli and Rohit – the wicketkeeper-batter won three ICC trophies including 2007 World T20, 2011 ODI World Cup and 2013 Champions Trophy.
While the ship may have sailed for Kohli, Rohit still has a chance to solidify his legacy as one of India’s finest captains. The 2023 ODI World Cup will be played under his captaincy and the seasoned campaigner will aim to bring home the title the team last won in 2011.
Both Kohli and Rohit led squads comprising talented players but the title remained out of their grasp. Batting legend Sunil Gavaskar thinks that the absence of top class allrounders is a major reason behind them not winning a world title.
“More than anything else, luck of the day is very important and if you look at the teams (1983, 2011), they all had top class allrounders. You had batters who could bowl 7-8-9 overs and bowlers who could bat down the order. That was the biggest plus of those teams. You see MSD’s team also – Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag – all could bowl. It was the biggest plus. So, any team which has all-rounders (will hold the edge),” Gavaskar was quoted as saying by the Hindustan Times.
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“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,” he added.
Gavaskar thinks that luck has also deserted India in crucial moments.
“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,” he said.
“At the last World Cup (2019) we had a match (semifinal vs New Zealand) which stretched into the second day. If it had gone the proper full day we might have had a different story, because the next day it was seaming conditions and the New Zealand bowlers could bowl well. So, I think you need a little bit of luck on the day. I mean there are four-five very good teams, so you need luck on the day,” he added.
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