Former India cricketer Sunil Gavaskar said that it would be surprising if India don’t win this year’s T20 World Cup.
Gavaskar expressed that India have geared up well for the tournament. And if they don’t win now then their preparations couldn’t be blamed for that. Before the World Cup, India played bilateral series with Australia and South Africa and emerged victorious in both the series. After that, the Indian team immediately left for Australia, almost three weeks prior to first Super 12 clash.
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The team had made this decision to acclimatise to the conditions. Further, they played two practice matches against Western Australia and then a practice match against Australia on October 17. Keeping all of this in mind, the former India captain said that the team has tuned well for the tournament.
In a column published in Mid-Day, Gavaskar wrote, “One thing for sure. If the Indian team does not win this T20 World Cup it won’t be for lack of preparation. Not only have they gone to Australia almost three weeks before their first game of the tournament, they are also playing practice games against good sides that should get them ready for the tournament.
The old saying, ‘if you fail to prepare then prepare to fail’ will not apply to this Indian team as, apart from these games in Australia, they also played six T20 matches at home and won four out of those to show that they are tuning in nicely for the big event."
The legendary batter further stated that India have shown problems in multilateral events but this time the blend of youth might help the team to secure wins.
“India’s performance in the white ball bilaterals has always been good, be it at home or overseas, but it’s in the multilateral events that they have been stumbling. In the past it’s been because they have come cold into the event. But that isn’t the case this time around and that’s why, with a terrific blend of youth and experience, there’s optimism among Indian cricket fans that the Cup should be coming home."
He further mentioned that despite a couple of major injury setbacks, the atmosphere around the Indian team is vibrant.
India will be playing without the likes of Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah and Deepak Chahar, all out of the tournament with injuries. Absence of all three of them will definitely pinch India but Gavaskar believes that this won’t completely damp the spirit in the Indian camp.
“Yes, the other teams have also been playing practice games and that should hold them in good stead, but there’s a buzz about this Indian team despite the absence of Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja," he added.
India will be taking on Pakistan in their World Cup opener on October 23 and ahead of the big clash Indian captain Rohit Sharma. He mentioned that India would need to work on various departments like death bowling, team combinations, batting etc. to succeed in big matches.
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However, Gavaskar believes that India will have an advantage in this World Cup despite matches being played in Australia.
“The T20 game can turn on its head in a matter of deliveries so the best of teams can flounder and that’s why it’s hard to call any team the favourite. The host country are also the defending champions so they obviously will have the slight edge that familiarity with conditions and pitches give any home team plus the crowd support.
The Indian team is blessed that it gets support anywhere they play and so even overseas they have tremendous cheer from their fans. That can also be pressure, but then, what is international sport where the best of one country play the best of the other and what else is that but pressure and more pressure," said Gavaskar.
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