India has its sights set on the ODI World Cup, which will be held on home soil in October and November of this year. The squad has struggled to win an ICC trophy; the last one it won was the Champions Trophy, which India won in 2013, while MS Dhoni was captain. The stakes are extremely high because India is hosting the World Cup, which adds to the pressure on captain Rohit Sharma and head coach Rahul Dravid.
India has already had two setbacks in their quest to end their trophy drought while being led by this combination. They lost to England in the T20 World Cup 2022 semifinals, while they were soundly defeated by Australia by 209 runs in the World Test Championship final earlier this year.
There are worries that India could crumble under the weight of such pressure, especially at home. Sourav Ganguly, the former captain of India who was also the BCCI president when Rohit and Dravid started in their current positions, offered an important observation on the team’s performance under pressure.
Despite mentioning India’s victories in Australia and the tied Test series in England, Ganguly argued that the squad fell short against both opponents in the ICC competitions. At the ODI World Cup, the India team must “get back to its winning ways” and be prepared for every scenario, urged the former India skipper.
“Yes, we defeated Australia in Australia, tied England in a series, but we fell short against them both in crucial matches. Although I believe we have a strong team and a good opportunity, Ganguly remarked that “we do need to return to our winning ways before the #ICCworldCup23.”
