India have not won an ICC tournament in eight years, despite reaching the knockouts six times. The last time India won an ICC Trophy was in 2013, when they beat England in the final to win the ICC Champions Trophy under MS Dhoni. Ever since, India have reached the semi-final of the 2015 World Cup, World T20 2016 and the 2019 World Cup, while finishing runner-up in the 2017 Champions Trophy and most recently the World Test Championship.
On Wednesday, as India failed to overcome another ICC hurdle, losing the inaugural WTC to New Zealand by eight wickets, the daggers were out again on Twitter, with fans using the 'C' word for the Indian team. Kohli's India losing the WTC final comes exactly eight years after they won the trophy in England, which not only drew comparisons between the current and the former India captain.
For the longest time, the 'C' word was used for South Africa, who had a history of losing crunch games or knockouts of ICC events, including the close semi-final against Australia in the 1999 World Cup. But if Twitter is to be believed, the tag is getting associated quickly to the Indian team for repeatedly reaching the knockouts but not being able to get across the line.
{{/usCountry}}For the longest time, the 'C' word was used for South Africa, who had a history of losing crunch games or knockouts of ICC events, including the close semi-final against Australia in the 1999 World Cup. But if Twitter is to be believed, the tag is getting associated quickly to the Indian team for repeatedly reaching the knockouts but not being able to get across the line.
{{/usCountry}}But while there were those questioned India's ability, some loyal fans continued to back their beloved Team India for keeping the fighting spirit alive.
After all, Kohli is India's most successful Test captain and the team has finished at the top of the ICC rankings for the last five years under his leadership.