Ravichandran Ashwin has urged fans to wait patiently when it comes to star batters Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli winning the ICC Trophy, and even the ‘great’ Sachin Tendulkar will be at the World Championships. He said it took six attempts to win.
India, who last won the World Cup in 2011, have not had success in the ICC tournament since winning the Champions Trophy in 2013.
Supporting former and current Indian skippers, Ashwin said on his YouTube channel:
“After the 1983 World Cup, the great Sachin his Tendulkar played in his 1992, 1996, 1999, 2003 and 2007 World Cups. I became a champion. He had to wait six world championships to finally win one.
“Just because another brave MS Dhoni came along and won the World Cup as soon as he took charge, doesn’t that happen to everyone, right?”
The team’s failure to win his ICC tournament in nearly a decade has drawn criticism, with the latest instance being England in the semi-finals of his T20 World Cup in Australia last November. It was a crushing defeat. Ashwin asked fans to give space to Rohit and Kohli.
“These players (Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli) were not playing in his 2007. Rohit Sharma missed his 2011 World Cup. Cori is the only player to have played in 2011, 2015 and 2019, and will be competing in her fourth World Championship in 2023. It reads, “He has yet to win an ICC tournament.” He won his 2011 and 2013 Champions trophies.
“Rohit Sharma won his 2013 Champions trophy as well, so we can give them space. They play bilateral games, IPL, and many other games. When it comes to ICC tournaments, we need key moments to pave the way,” he said.
From October to November he will host the ODI World Cup in India.