Hayden delivers blistering take on India's ICC title drought before WTC final, drops huge prediction on IPL superstar
Matthew Hayden has shared his views about India's title drought in ICC events before WTC final. He also lauded an India star after IPL 2023.
With the 16th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) coming to an end, all roads now lead to The Oval as Rohit Sharma's Team India is all set to make their return to international cricket for the Ultimate Test. The newly ranked No.1 side in red-ball cricket, Rohit's Team India will meet Pat Cummins-led Australia in the final of the ICC World Test Championship at the Oval this week. Runners-up in the previous edition of the ICC World Test Championship, Team India will be desperate to put an end to their long-standing title drought in ICC events.
The two-time world champions last won an ICC trophy when legendary MS Dhoni was at the helm. The former India skipper had propelled the Men In Blue to Champions Trophy glory back in 2013. Since then, the Asian giants have failed to win a single trophy in ICC events. India were outplayed by arch-rivals Pakistan in the 2017 Champions Trophy final. The Men In Blue were then stunned by New Zealand in the semi-final of the 2019 ODI World Cup. In the previous T20 World Cup, India were hammered by eventual champions England in the semi-finals.
'There's a lot of pressure'
What's stopping India from crossing the final hurdle in ICC events? Can Team India secure a major ICC trophy this season by defeating Australia? Legendary Australian opener Matthew Hayden observed that the team's winless run in ICC events is more of a 'mindset' issue.“It's certainly not a question of skill. So, it has to be a question of just the opportunity and the mindset going in. I mean, cricket is life here, it is the DNA of sport and has no other competitors. In Australia I could walk down the street and largely be unrecognised, especially with this terrible beard and hat on (laughs). But it's also got great competitive sports besides cricket. Rugby, football, our watersports, surfing, outdoor sports, here in India it's very insular and there's a lot of pressure,” Hayden told PTI.
Hayden's advice to Team India
The legendary Australian opener believes that both teams don't have an advantage heading into the final which is scheduled to take place at the Oval in London from June 7 to June 11. Citing the recent success of IPL giants Gujarat Titans (GT), Mumbai Indians (MI) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK), Hayden also has an interesting advice for Rohit's Team India ahead of the World Test Championship final."It's the same with Pakistan cricket as well. There is one sport and it is cricket so it's a mindset thing. Being cautious about looking for the scoreboard and looking for the titles and just playing and being a part of process, something when you look at franchise setups, Gujarat Titans have done really well this year and CSK have done very well. Mumbai Indians as well believe in a certain process. So, that would be my advice to Indian cricket to forget the outcomes, but buy into the process," Hayden said.
‘Shubman Gill will be a superstar of any cricket format’
The former CSK star also issued a noteworthy statement about the rise of Shubman Gill. India opener Gill has arrived in London after a blockbuster season in the IPL 2023. The Orange Cap winner and IPL's Player of The Tournament has also played a series of scintillating knocks for Team India to cement his position in the Indian lineup across formats.
"You will see a lot of Shubman Gill for the next 15 years. The foundations behind a good Test cricketer are pretty simple. And Shubman, and KL Rahul before him, fundamentally have fantastic games. So, he'll be a superstar of any cricket format for a very long time. One of the biggest advantages that Shubman has and he showed this when he was touring Australia is he's very good off the backfoot as well. So square of wicket play is excellent. And that'll stand him in good stead even against the best Test sides in the world," Hayden added.