There are a lot of expectations from the Indian cricket team at the T20 World Cup 2021, which got underway with the qualifying round on October 17.
The Virat Kohli-led side will open their campaign against arch-rivals Pakistan in Dubai on October 24 in the Super 12s stage.
Speaking on the importance of this tournament, former opener Gautam Gambhir on Monday (October 18) said India would look to lift the trophy not only because this is Kohli's last stint as T20I captain but also because it's been more than 14 years since the side last clinched the coveted title.
Notably, Kohli has already announced that he will step down as India’s T20 captain after the showpiece event in UAE and Oman.
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“All he would be looking for is to win the T20 competition and I'm sure that the entire team will be looking to do that as well because it's been a long 14 years of wait. I'm sure that it's not only about Virat Kohli that he's going to be captaining India for the last time in the T20 format, it's about just winning the tournament and him winning as captain will be icing on the cake,” Gambhir said while speaking on Star Sports' show ‘Follow the Blues’.
Meanwhile, MS Dhoni is playing the role of Team India’s mentor in the ongoing T20 World Cup. He recently led Chennai Super Kings (CSK) to the IPL 2021 title at the age of 40.
Commenting on Dhoni's inclusion as a mentor, Gambhir said: “To share his experience with some of the young guys who are playing their first World Cup, which is going to be very important because playing in the World Cup is a completely different piece. So, you would need that experienced someone who's been there done that. So, MS could definitely try and share all his experiences with some of the young cricketers.”
Before beginning their T20 World Cup campaign, the Men in Blue will take on England and Australia in the warm-up games on October 18 and October 20, respectively.
