Team India skipper Rohit Sharma will have his legacy on the line especially with two marquee events this year - Asia Cup 2023 and ICC ODI World Cup 2023. (More Cricket News)
India has come up short in ICC events however with the ODI World Cup scheduled on home soil, the Men In Blue will look to repeat the 2011 heroics once again. However, given the record, Rohit will need to up his ante in the tournament. Virat Kohli took Indian cricket to new heights under his captaincy but failed to win any major ICC event.
When Indian cricket icon Sunil Gavaskar was quizzed on Rohit's legacy as a skipper, the former said that the Mumbai-born batter would be judged by the number of trophies he accumulates.
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"At the end of the day you are judged by the number of trophies you have won, the numbers of wins you have. Winning these two tournaments will make him one of India's greatest skippers," Gavaskar was quoted as saying by Hindustan Times.
'Sunny G' also shared his opinion on the team's preparations for the World Cup. While all the talk remains around the no. 4 slot for Team India, Gavaskar highlighted the lack of all-rounders remains a worry
"More than anything else, luck of the day is very important and if you look at the teams (in 1983, 1985 and 2011), they all had top class all-rounders. You had batters who could bowl 7-8-9 overs and bowlers who could bat down the order. That was the biggest plus of those teams. You see MSD's team also: Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag could all bowl. It was the biggest plus. So, any team which has all-rounders (will hold the edge).
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"You look at England who won last year's T20 World Cup, look at the all-rounders they had. So, all-rounders are the key element," said the 1983 World Cup-winning.
Gavaskar feels India needs a bit of 'luck' if they are to go all the way in the tournament.
"We have got immense talent, (but) in the knockout stage you need a little bit of luck on the day. If you look at our situation in the knockout stages where we have lost, we had ill-luck just about every time.
"At the last World Cup (2019) we had a match (semifinal versus New Zealand) which stretched into the second day. If it had gone the proper full day we might have had a different story, because the next day it was seaming conditions and the New Zealand bowlers could bowl well. So, I think you need a little bit of luck on the day. I mean there are four-five very good teams, so you need luck on the day."
