Gautam Gambhir said India need to build their core and make sure they play all their games before the ODI World Cup. The former left-hander Batsman called workload management “the biggest mistake in Indian cricket” in recent years and said taking a break from ODI was not an option this year.
This year is the year his ICC Trophy drought lasted his decade in India. Since under MS Dhoni he won the 2013 Champions Trophy, Team India has seen him near the finish line with his 2014 T20 World Cup, 2017 Champions Trophy and 2019 WTC Finals. I couldn’t. However, his performances at the last two T20 World Championships have been disappointing. They failed to qualify for the knockout stages in the 2021 T20 World Cup in UAE and in last year’s edition in Australia, although they won four out of five group matches to move to the semi-final as table toppers, their humiliating 10-wicket loss to England painted a grim picture. Former India opener Gautam Gambhir believes one of the major reasons for India’s below-par outings in the last two World Cups is the frequent breaks taken by top players captain Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah and others.
With the next ICC tournament – ODI World Cup – at home at the end of this year, do India have the side to end the trophy drought? Gambhir said India need to build a core and make sure they play every match before the ODI World Cup. Calling workload management ‘the biggest mistake in Indian cricket’ in the last couple of years or so, the former left-handed batter said taking breaks from ODIs is not an option this year. “They have to play together. I think the biggest mistake Indian cricket has made in the last two World Cups is that they didn’t play enough cricket together. Park. Tell me how many times you’ve played your best at a 50-over World Cup, whether they want a break from the T20 or the IPL,” Gambia said on Star Sports’ road to World Cup glory show. The 2007 and 2011 World Cup winners say it’s okay to skip the T20I a few times or skip the IPL if older or faster bowlers want to rest.
“If someone who plays more than three formats wants a break, they can definitely take a break from T20 cricket, but they definitely can’t take a break from the ODI format. If franchisees have to suffer, Franchisees have to suffer Indian cricket is the main player, not the IPL, the IPL is just a byproduct. If India came out and won the World Cup, it would be a bigger round of applause and a bigger ring. It doesn’t matter if the player can’t attend the IPL match. So I think winning the World Cup is much more important than winning the IPL,” he added.
Gambhir also spoke about how India’s ODI World Cup teams should choose in terms of approaches and assists in this game’s 50-over format. “First, we need to identify players who have a fearless approach, and perhaps in a format like 50 overs, you need a mix of all types of players. There are players who can lock innings. Role changes too. It made a huge difference, during that time there was only one new ball, but now there were two new balls with five fielders. So the part-time role is out the window. Backswing, we don’t see enough backswings anymore, and we don’t see enough chasing finger spinners. “
Gambhir said Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli will play key roles in his ODI World Cup campaign for India. Moreover, this could be the great cricketer’s last major his 50 overs in his tournament.
“I always feel that when we are talking about this new approach that India is talking about all the time, templates and so on, we need to identify players who can very easily adapt those roles or that template. Adapt to this template Some people can’t, so why force them to play in a certain way that doesn’t come naturally? So instead of thinking that you have to play according to a certain template, I think it’s very important to identify the players and find the right combination at the same time, so I choose all 15 with a similar mindset or template. I think all these players like Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma who can stabilize innings and probably have very good spins are going to play a big role in Worlds going forward. “