India are not the ‘frauds’ of world cricket anymore, western media's ridicule laid to rest with a barrage of trophies
After a long barren spell that claimed Virat Kohli as collateral damage , just like that, India have won three ICC trophies.
Before India won the T20 World Cup in 2024, their previous ICC trophy had come in 2013 in the form of the Champions Trophy in England. The barren spell was just too long thereafter.
There were occasions when India should have won, but sadly, they couldn't cross the final hurdle. India reached the final of the 2014 T20 World Cup but lost to Sri Lanka in Dhaka. Firm favourites at home in the 2016 T20 World Cup, they lost to the West Indies in the semifinal.
Then in the 2019 World Cup, they looked like the best team before losing to New Zealand in the semifinal against all odds. Two years before in 2017, they had lost to Pakistan in the Champions Trophy final, again against all odds. Then when in 2023, they lost their World Cup final against Australia in their own den at Ahmedabad, all hell broke loose.
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Some sections of the western media called the Indian team "the frauds of world cricket" for not being able to win trophies despite having all the wherewithal - talent as well as money and clout. In fact, such murmurs had begun the year before when they lost their T20 World Cup semifinal by 10 wickets against eventual champions England in Australia.
{{/usCountry}}Some sections of the western media called the Indian team "the frauds of world cricket" for not being able to win trophies despite having all the wherewithal - talent as well as money and clout. In fact, such murmurs had begun the year before when they lost their T20 World Cup semifinal by 10 wickets against eventual champions England in Australia.
{{/usCountry}}In this age of social media, it can't be that these "unsavoury" remarks didn't reach the Indian cricket ecosystem. In fact, Virat Kohli was repeatedly asked why his team had not won any ICC events. Not long after that query came into being, he wasn't captaining the side. The comparison with MS Dhoni, the only captain to date to win all three white-ball ICC trophies, kept resurfacing. Kohli had to go!
Revenge is not complete yet!
{{/usCountry}}In this age of social media, it can't be that these "unsavoury" remarks didn't reach the Indian cricket ecosystem. In fact, Virat Kohli was repeatedly asked why his team had not won any ICC events. Not long after that query came into being, he wasn't captaining the side. The comparison with MS Dhoni, the only captain to date to win all three white-ball ICC trophies, kept resurfacing. Kohli had to go!
Revenge is not complete yet!
{{/usCountry}}Three to four years on, India have hit back with aplomb. In less than two years, they have won three ICC trophies, first the 2024 T20 World Cup in June, then the Champions Trophy last year and now the 2026 T20 World Cup. Fans will remember how Michael Vaughan of England particularly mocked India after every defeat across formats.
It may be noted that India also lost back-to-back World Test Championship finals in 2021 (to New Zealand) and 2023 (to Australia). Those defeats were like turning the knife after a clean stab.
Post the 2023 World Cup final, they were called chokers too. In the lead-up to the match, Aussie captain Pat Cummins had thrown down the gauntlet. “In sport, there's nothing more satisfying than hearing a big crowd go silent, and that's the aim for us," he said. And he did it the next day, one of the saddest days in Indian cricket.
Anyway, what a quick turnaround for India now. However, a couple of feathers are still required for a complete haul. The World Test Championship and the World Cup next year. They are yet to win the WTC and since 2011, they have not won a 50-overs World Cup. Then there is the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028, where cricket is returning after 128 years! If India can cross these remaining hurdles, they will have moved on from the "frauds" remarks in a truly spectacular way.
