It's been more than a decade since Team India last won a global title. After the Champions Trophy triumph in 2013, the side has lost as many as five ICC event finals and bowed out in the semi-finals on numerous occasions.
Last year, the Men in Blue had a great chance to end the ICC trophy drought but they once again failed to cross the final hurdle. The Rohit Sharma-led side won all the league-stage matches and the semi-final before losing the title clash of the Cricket World Cup to Australia in Ahmedabad.
With the T20 World Cup 2024 around the corner, the Indian team will get another chance to break the ICC trophy jinx.
Meanwhile, former India spinner Harbhajan Singh has expressed his belief that Rohit has the potential to replicate MS Dhoni's feat from the 2007 T20 World Cup, provided that the team performs collectively.
"Rohit Sharma alone can't win the Cup, it is about ‘we’ and not ‘me’. The more we play like 'we', you can achieve anything," Harbhajan said while speaking on 'Star Sports Press Room'.
Harbhajan also pointed out the potential impact of the daunting IPL 2024 season on the performance of Indian players. Therefore, he suggested Rohit and his troops to consider the T20 World Cup as an extension of the IPL and adjust their mindset accordingly.
"IPL is a tiring tournament, travel is very tiring. The players will be physically and mentally a bit tired but they need to look at it as an extended part of the IPL,” Harbhajan said.
"There is nothing bigger than the World Cup, you need to give your best, you have to be switched on the given day. You have to bowl well, bat well and field well. Winning a world cup is not going to be easy, you have to be mentally strong," he further remarked.
There is a lot of speculations regarding the nature of pitches being prepared for the upcoming T20 World Cup in the West Indies and USA.
Sharing his two cents on the same, Harbhajan said: "Pitches nobody knows how long they will last. Practice matches will give an idea about team combinations.”
Former India pacer Sreesanth added: "Two spinners is our strength. Hardik (Pandya) as third seamer, and two fast bowlers. India has a very strong batting line-up."
India will open their T20 World Cup 2024 campaign against Ireland in New York on June 5.
Team India’s 15-member squad for T20 World Cup 2024:
Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Suryakumar Yadav, Sanju Samson, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravindra Jadeja, Akshar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj and Arshdeep Singh
Travelling Reserves: Shubman Gill, Rinku Singh, Khaleel Ahmed and Avesh Khan
(With PTI inputs)
