The much-awaited ICC T20 World Cup 2024 will give India another chance to end their long wait for a World Cup trophy. While the Men in Blue have completely dominated the bilateral series in the last decade, the same cannot be said for their performance in the World Cup.
India has done well in the league or group stages of competitions but has struggled to win knockout matches. Even last year, when they looked almost unbeatable in the ODI World Cup at home, they ended up losing the final against Australia. The defeat further extended India’s long wait for an ICC trophy.
India have not won the World Cup in any format since 2011, while they last won an ICC trophy in 2013. The Men in Blue have also not won the T20 World Cup since 2007. And as they prepare for the Cup of the 2024 World T20, Former captain Sourav Ganguly has given them important advice.
At a recent event, the former Indian captain started by praising the depth of the Indian team and called the team a “fantastic team”. He further said that India will have to play freely to excel in the competition.
“We expect India to play well. All the players are good. There are so many players in our country that it is difficult to select the eleven. We have a lot of options to choose from. They have a fantastic team.” Ganguly told ANI.
“This is Rahul Dravid’s job because he is the coach. He just Watch and cheer for India. I would just like to say that we have to play freely in the T20 format”, he added when asked to offer guidance to the Rohit Sharma-led side.
India eyes second T20 World Cup 2024:
The T20 World Cup will begin on Sunday (June 2) with the match between co-hosts the United States and Canada in Dallas. India, on the other hand, will open its campaign on June 5. The Men in Blue are drawn in Group A along with Ireland, Pakistan, the United States and Canada. They will face Ireland in their first match of the tournament.
India is eyeing its second T20 World Cup. They have a chance to become the first Asian team to win the tournament twice. In the last edition, India crashed out at the semi-final stage after a humiliating 10-wicket defeat against eventual champions England and will look to make amends this year.