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'When I see Rohit, Kohli's wives...': Ganguly's special message to 'Dravid' ahead of T20 WC, uses 2003 final example
Sourav Ganguly had a special advice to Rahul Dravid on how to deal with pressure at the upcoming T20 World Cup.
It was 2013, when India last clinched an ICC trophy. It seems like ages since then and Indian fans have had to deal with multiple heartbreaks like last year, when Rohit Sharma and Co. lost to Australia at the ODI World Cup final in Ahmedabad.
With the T20 World Cup scheduled to begin on June 2, India will be aiming to break the jinx and win the title. But they will be under immense pressure as usual.
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Speaking to RevSportz, former India captain and ex-BCCI chief Sourav Ganguly requested the Indian players to not fall under pressure, and play freely. Pointing the expressions of the wives of the Indian players, he said, "If I can say something to Rahul [Dravid] and, make no mistake, he is a champion cricketer and cricket brain, it will be to relax a little. When I see Rohit’s wife in the stands, it is evident how much pressure she is under. When I see Virat’s wife, I see the kind of pressure she is feeling."
Using India's 2003 World Cup final defeat as an example, he added, "We in India make this mistake of pushing too much. I think back to the 2003 [World Cup] final, for example. If anything, we need to relax when we are playing the big games. Just play with freedom."
India will open their campaign on June 5, taking on Ireland in New York. Rohit and Yashasvi Jaiswal are expected to open for India, with Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav the other two specialist batters. Meanwhile, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel are the all-rounders in the 15-member squad. Although, Dube might be used as a specialist batter and has barely featured with the ball in recent times. Jadeja and Axar will also contribute with spin duties, Hardik will add to the pace battery.
Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal are two specialist spinners. Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj form the pace department. Meanwhile, Shubman Gill, Rinku Singh, Khaleel Ahmed and Avesh Khan are the reserves.
