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'When will you win? We used to say that if Rohit, Kohli make runs...': India great's criticism for not winning ICC title
It has been nearly a decade since India won an ICC title and they have the chance to break the drought when they host the ODI World Cup later this year.
It has been nearly a decade since India last won an ICC trophy, with the 2013 Champions Trophy being their last victory in a major tournament. India will have a chance at breaking the drought later this year when they host the ODI World Cup and captain Rohit Sharma will be hoping to make full use of the home advantage they have.
India have faced a string of disappointments in tournaments since, notably in the period since 2017 where they played five ICC tournaments and the best they managed was reaching the final in the 2017 Champions Trophy. While it was MS Dhoni that led them to the 2013 Champions Trophy, thus becoming the first and thus far only captain to have won the T20 World Cup, ODI World Cup and Champions Trophy titles, they went on to miss out on three ICC titles under him. India reached the final of the 2014 T20 World Cup, losing to Sri Lanka by six wickets. They then lost to eventual champions Australia in the semi-final of the 2015 World Cup and then to eventual champions West indies in the semi-final of the 2016 T20 World Cup at home.
Virat Kohli then took over as captain and India were stunned by arch-rivals Pakistan in the final of the 2017 Champions Trophy. They then lost to New Zealand in the semi-finals of the 2019 World Cup after which they crashed out in their first stage of the 2021 T20 World Cup. In the 2022 T20 World Cup, India were trashed by eventual champions England in the semi-final by 10 wickets.
Former India spinner Harbhajan Singh, who was an integral part of the team that won the 2011 World Cup, said that India tend to shuffle players too much which weakens them. “It has become a bit of a pattern. In 2018-19 we saw that there was a lot of shuffling of players. Dinesh Karthik was playing, Rishabh Pant was also playing… How to win a big match, there is a little lack of experience. Big matches are high pressure. World Cup pressure is different from bilateral series. Bigger the tournament, the higher the pressure is. Very few people actually take that kind of pressure,” he told the Indian Express.
Harbhajan says that India should be winning a title sooner than later considering the abundance of talent they have. The former spinner said that it means that India are no longer dependent on one or two players to win them the big games. “We used to say that if Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli make runs, then India will win. But now there is Hardik Pandya. We have more players now (potential match-winners) and I hope this trend will change. With the kind of talent we have, I think we should be able to. If you are unable to win with the talent we have, then when will you win?” said Harbhajan.
