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What went wrong with the Indian team in ICC T20 World Cup 2021?

It is really quite strange.

Obviously there is Pakistan v India rivalry and fans of both sides like to have some needle, some trolling etc and it is part of the banter and fun that goes with any sporting rivalry. Swings and roundabouts etc

But looking at it purely objectively. India is without doubt a very strong team. They were certainly one of the pre tournament favourites. Personally I had them and England as quite a distance ahead of the rest, including Pakistan.

So to see India lose but not only lose, lose so tamely in two games is so strange. Today especially there was no intensity. Kohli is right, there was no bravery - look at India's first few overs. The first wicket was a half shot. Rohit came in and played a half shot first ball, basically giving catching practice to the fielder who dropped it and then even after being given the chance he basically got out in the same way.

It could be IPL fatigue but is there something else going on behind the scenes? Is everything okay in the dressing room? I'm asking genuinely because I expect India to always fight and make things tough for their opponents, even if they lose. That they haven't done that is very much out of the ordinary.
 
sajsultan said:
I still don’t understand how Hardik and pant who played the lions Shari played this like it’s a test match.. these are both strikers at over 150, and when you are batting in the 18th over while the score is still under 100 snd you have only lost 5 wickets at that point.. it makes no sense.. team India will have to answer a lot of questions as how their batting failed in such a do or die match.. granted wickets were falling, but this is T20, wickets do fall its part of the game.. it’s evident that every player was playing scared
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Strikers at over 150?
Pant has a career SR of 122.
 
Simple There players don't want it badly enough is the problem they have. The IPL has made them all millionaires hence they find it hard to motivate themselves when representing their country. We have seen guys like Rohit and Kohli blast the opposition out of the park yet here they don't seem to be performing at all. Pak not playing in the IPL has benefited our international side.
 
They need a brave overhaul like Dhoni did in 2007 and went into the World Cup with a side that didn’t have Sachin, Dravid and Ganguly.

But unfortunately, I don’t see someone that can lead the side like he could and take the bold decision with the BCCI. A lot of Moolah is generated by the BCCI just by naming Sharma, Kohli and Bumrah in the side.
 
PakLFC said:
Simple There players don't want it badly enough is the problem they have. The IPL has made them all millionaires hence they find it hard to motivate themselves when representing their country. We have seen guys like Rohit and Kohli blast the opposition out of the park yet here they don't seem to be performing at all. Pak not playing in the IPL has benefited our international side.
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I don't know how wrong is this "they don't want it" because of IPL.

Ben Stokes is a millionaire because of IPL, does this mean he doesn't want it? Do you see the energy when he plays? Many English players earn a lot in IPL, same for other players.

When you are playing in face of the whole world for your country why would someone not want it?

These Indian players are just not as food as they are made to be.
 
Rana said:
They need a brave overhaul like Dhoni did in 2007 and went into the World Cup with a side that didn’t have Sachin, Dravid and Ganguly.

But unfortunately, I don’t see someone that can lead the side like he could and take the bold decision with the BCCI. A lot of Moolah is generated by the BCCI just by naming Sharma, Kohli and Bumrah in the side.
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Who do you think will be a good candidate to be the captain?
I see potential in Pandya. Such a formidable all rounder and also looks to be a very smart and intelligent person.
 
Mobashir said:
Who do you think will be a good candidate to be the captain?
I see potential in Pandya. Such a formidable all rounder and also looks to be a very smart and intelligent person.
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I think Shreyas Iyer. Not Sharma, Not KL and none of the bowlers. Pandya has improved himself a lot as a person but I still feel he is easily replaceable if he is only in the side to bat, that too at no.6. It’s like Pakistan thinking about making Asif Ali the captain.
 
Mobashir said:
I don't know how wrong is this "they don't want it" because of IPL.

Ben Stokes is a millionaire because of IPL, does this mean he doesn't want it? Do you see the energy when he plays? Many English players earn a lot in IPL, same for other players.

When you are playing in face of the whole world for your country why would someone not want it?

These Indian players are just not as food as they are made to be.
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This is the best that India has so they have to be good enough. Every players mentality is different which is why I believe Indian players seem lacklustre compared to others.

Ben would be very wealthy too but obviously his country means more to him then India does to their players. Indian players also play too much Cricket as well.
 
PakLFC said:
Simple There players don't want it badly enough is the problem they have. The IPL has made them all millionaires hence they find it hard to motivate themselves when representing their country. We have seen guys like Rohit and Kohli blast the opposition out of the park yet here they don't seem to be performing at all. Pak not playing in the IPL has benefited our international side.
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Why were those same players so motivated at Melbourne / Brisbane / Lords / Oval ?
 
NishanKonar said:
Those test players are also IPL millionaires. Somehow hey did not look out of motivation or lacked hunger or drive !
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That may be so but the test team back then was better then the T20 one of today. The T20 Indian side does not seem determine enough.
 
How much are Indian players getting paid for this WC? Maybe they're missing the money of the IPL.
 
Kroll said:
How much are Indian players getting paid for this WC? Maybe they're missing the money of the IPL.
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True that. WC not interesting, motivating enough after IPL riches. Better to wrap up quick and head home sooner for Diwali and brand endorsements. IPL is to India now what "world" series is to USA. IPL is the new world cup and vice versa.
 
When you dont play Pakistan you rule out playing one of the best t20 sides under high pressure in the UAE.

India are either playing in India or SENA.

UAE meh sirf IPL nahi chale ga.
 
Lego20 said:
True that. WC not interesting, motivating enough after IPL riches. Better to wrap up quick and head home sooner for Diwali and brand endorsements. IPL is to India now what "world" series is to USA. IPL is the new world cup and vice versa.
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IPL product is nothing if Team India can’t perform at big stage. IPL needs team India to perform at big stage.

Comparing cricket to USA World Series is just an immature excuse for those who don’t understand neither the World Series nor Cricket.
 
Is this one of the most talentless India team?

There is only 1 player Kohli who has performed in pressure situations before in tournaments and even he is downhill on his career. Other than him there is no match winner in the team. This team remind me of the 90s era when Pakistan used to smack them for fun all the time.
 
srh said:
There is only 1 player Kohli who has performed in pressure situations before in tournaments and even he is downhill on his career. Other than him there is no match winner in the team. This team remind me of the 90s era when Pakistan used to smack them for fun all the time.
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Sharma? Bumrah?

Come on man. What a thread.
 
In my assessment, quite a few things that India needs to address:

1. MISMATCH BETWEEN IPL AND INTERNATIONALS:

Currently, there is a big mismatch in terms of how Indians play the IPL and the internationals. The roles are completely different for players when they play the IPL as opposed to when they take the ground for India.

For example, look at KL Rahul. When he plays for Punjab, he frames his role as an anchor who needs to bat 20 overs as I feel, he believes that the rest of the batsmen in his team aren't good enough. But when he plays for India, he has to adapt to a different role which is to maximize the powerplay. Ishan Kishan opens for India but hardly does it for Mumbai Indians. There is a clear mismatch.

On the other hand, if you look at Pakistan, every player performs the exact same role in internationals as they do in the PSL or National T20. Internationals are just a natural extension of their domestic roles.

2. AGEING GROUP OF PLAYERS

6 or 7 players today for India were over the age of 30 and a couple were 29 or thereabout. Only Ishan and Rishabh can be termed as youth. India needs a clear out of some of these players. Rohit is an incredible player and may still win India matches singlehandedly in T20s. But India should look to gradually replace him now in order to have a settled young gun at the next world cup. Gaikwad/Jaiswal/Ishan should be given more chances. Same with guys like Shami/Thakur. These guys need to be replaced. I believe the question asked by the journalist regarding Rohit being replaced by Ishan was perfectly fine.

3. STICKING WITH OUT OF FORM PLAYERS

Kohli has this weird obsessions of backing certain players who are apparently in his good books. Pandya could hobble on one leg and still find his place in the team. Rohit could score 10 ducks in a row and still be the best opener for India as per Kohli. I feel Kohli puts huge value on past performances rather than putting importance on recent form. If he went with recent form, he would've picked Harshal Patel and Deepak Chahar in his bowling lineup. Picking in form players for a World Cup is so crucial but I've hardly seen Kohli go against his favourite players even if they're out of form.

Kohli standing down after the world cup is actually a good sign for India. They need a young guy (24 or 25 years old) to become captain and impose his way on the team and do a mega clear out for T20s. For me, there's no place for Pandya, Shami, Bhuvneshwar, Jadeja at the very least. And Rohit needs to be phased out.

Let's see if there'll be an inquest or not.
 
1.team selection, varun over ashwin is just a crime
2. Fatigue from IPL
3. Kohli is a bad limited over captain
4.over confidence and arrogance
5. Lack of team planning
 
Kohli has not performed with the bat for ages. I am surprised at how he has escaped scrutiny for so long for his own batting form for so long
 
Mind you I don’t watch ipl and pakistan has hardly played india in last decade so most of these players bar Kohli were very familiar for
Me to watch in t20s and all I can say is that apart from Bumrah and Kohli all the other players look very basic. Bumrah is just a specialist bowler like Umar gul was for bowling Yorkers but india has ZERO pace and swing bowlers of note. Zero. The spinners ? From what I remember Ashwin was a far superior bowler than any of these spinners bowling here. In batting I see a very top heavy side. If you get the 2 of 3 batters the rest of the side collapses. That means they don’t have true depth and it was exposed here. Honestly , England, NZ and Pakistan seem to be the best 3 sides based on true talent . England for their power. NZ for punching above their weight and Pakistan powered by pure passion
 
This reminds of the Indian team of the 90s - great batsmen, one bowler. Cannot take wickets as a unit; batsmen under too much pressure. Big match chokers… looks like Indian cricket recycling back to that era.
 
Kohli should come up with the bravery and tell it all straight into their faces that "I was demoralized and felt backstabbed from the elements in our fanbase who he thought would unilaterally support the team. But the social media attacks on Shami, really resulted in them losing all their appetite for victory.
There is no interest left to play. And those who attacked Shami, can come and play in the national team to represent the country".

IMO, the whole team is ashamed to represent a country that has such people who attack a player of their own team based on his religious affiliation.

I don't think anyone happily wants to become the captain of this team at this point.
 
RedwoodOriginal said:
[MENTION=139664]street cricketer[/MENTION] your analysis about India's problems with left-arm swing ended up being dead-on once again.
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Yeah anyone who watches the Indian team across all formats would know that pace and bounce has not been the Indian team's weakness but conventional swing is, in the last 8 years or so. It's why time and again they have been ow*ed by not just Anderson but even gentle medium pace trundlers like Sam Curran in England in 2014 and 2018 and it required a performance of their lives from Rohit and Rahul for India to finally have a good tour of England breaking the jinx.

It is left arm pacers that has particularly been India's weakness in the last few years because one reason is that it exposes their traditional weakness in facing conventional swing and two, it's not a bowling they usually face even in the nets to get acquainted against. It's why someone like Boult who only bowls in the 130-135k range has still been able to trouble India time and again because Boult's primary wicket taking ball is the one that's pitched full and swings in to the right hander, alternating with the one that goes across with the angle.

Sure they have the best analysts in the world who would advise them on these issues and it's not that these batsmen don't know that Boult or Amir or Shaheen would swing it in. It's just that when you're so used to facing the right armer who keeps pitching it on length and nibbles it away in the nets, your muscle memory automatically takes the head over the line of the ball with weight shifting to the offside and when the ball makes the sudden shift in trajectory swinging inwards, it's too late to adjust and they either end up getting bowled or lbw.
 
street cricketer said:
Yeah anyone who watches the Indian team across all formats would know that pace and bounce has not been the Indian team's weakness but conventional swing is, in the last 8 years or so. It's why time and again they have been ow*ed by not just Anderson but even gentle medium pace trundlers like Sam Curran in England in 2014 and 2018 and it required a performance of their lives from Rohit and Rahul for India to finally have a good tour of England breaking the jinx.

It is left arm pacers that has particularly been India's weakness in the last few years because one reason is that it exposes their traditional weakness in facing conventional swing and two, it's not a bowling they usually face even in the nets to get acquainted against. It's why someone like Boult who only bowls in the 130-135k range has still been able to trouble India time and again because Boult's primary wicket taking ball is the one that's pitched full and swings in to the right hander, alternating with the one that goes across with the angle.

Sure they have the best analysts in the world who would advise them on these issues and it's not that these batsmen don't know that Boult or Amir or Shaheen would swing it in. It's just that when you're so used to facing the right armer who keeps pitching it on length and nibbles it away in the nets, your muscle memory automatically takes the head over the line of the ball with weight shifting to the offside and when the ball makes the sudden shift in trajectory swinging inwards, it's too late to adjust and they either end up getting bowled or lbw.
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Its not a new issue though. Even in 90s, indian batsman were vulnerable to left arm pacers who did swing in. Especially if swings late.
 
Itachi said:
Its not a new issue though. Even in 90s, indian batsman were vulnerable to left arm pacers who did swing in. Especially if swings late.
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Common man, batsman world over find it difficult to play swing. You make it sound like Indian batsman are tullebaaz while all teams have Sachin, Viv Richards in their lineup. These are best players we got. They haven’t clicked collectively so we lost. Big deal. It’s sport. Sometimes it happens. In this tournament, 9/10 matches have won by teams batting second.
 
Savak said:
Kohli has not performed with the bat for ages. I am surprised at how he has escaped scrutiny for so long for his own batting form for so long
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He just scored a 50 vs Pakistan when his team mates were crumbling, it was a performance tbh.
 
I still think that they just had two bad games, which is very possible in this format, and are still a top side.

For them, unfortunately, two bad games in a tournament like this means an early exit which would be analyzed till the cows come home.

I think there isn't any serious problem with the Indian side, but highly doubt this would be the perception among most fans - so, the team should brace themselves for severe backlash.
 
To further illustrate how much Kohli has been cutting corners in training and in practice, Indian fans compared his shirtless pic during the drinks break in the Pakistani match vs a few years in the past and his abs are more or less diminished now.

He definitely doesn't have the same hunger and fire in his belly as he did a few years ago. Maybe getting married to a Bollywood starlet and then becoming a father has changed his priorities in life
 
Savak said:
To further illustrate how much Kohli has been cutting corners in training and in practice, Indian fans compared his shirtless pic during the drinks break in the Pakistani match vs a few years in the past and his abs are more or less diminished now.

He definitely doesn't have the same hunger and fire in his belly as he did a few years ago. Maybe getting married to a Bollywood starlet and then becoming a father has changed his priorities in life
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Kohli has been finished as a cricketer for at least 2 years now. He is now in just to milk his status as world's best cricketer of 2 years ago as much as he can.

And you can't blame him. For all his false bravado of I'll leave international cricket the day I stop enjoying it, is just for media and gullible fans' consumption.
 
LaLoco said:
IPL product is nothing if Team India can’t perform at big stage. IPL needs team India to perform at big stage.

Comparing cricket to USA World Series is just an immature excuse for those who don’t understand neither the World Series nor Cricket.
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Indian team does not need to exist for IPL to continue and succeed. India has moved on from national cricket mindset (at least for t20) to extravagant, glamorous fun and entertainment. Honestly, the T20 world cup pails in front of IPL when it comes to entertainment and glamor. Its like going from Hyatt to Motel6
 
They are fatigued, and also under media pressure, and changed their lineup, Why you want to fix something which is not broken, Why Rohit didn't open.
Also why not playing wrist spinner...
 
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Coolcapri said:
They are fatigue, And also **** to media pressure and changed there lineup, Why you want to fix something which is not broken, Why Rohit didn't open.
Also why not playing wrist spinner...
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Not broken? Man Rohit's foot was almost broken on Shaheen's Yorker.
He clearly don't want to face a quality left arm pacer again with the new ball so decided to hide behind the little boy, Kishan.
Rohit Sharma is Mentally very fragile.
 
Indian fans are raging on Twitter. #banipl trend has received more than 75k tweets
 
Mobashir said:
Not broken? Man Rohit's foot was almost broken on Shaheen's Yorker.
He clearly don't want to face a quality left arm pacer again with the new ball so decided to hide behind the little boy, Kishan.
Rohit Sharma is Mentally very fragile.
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How the time changes in matter of few matches, We used this mentally weak/fragile word for Pakistan in big matches Esp. vs India.
 
Painful time as Indian fan, but this will also pass. Still love my team

Everything that could go wrong, has went wrong this World Cup.
But, I will still follow and back my team and give them confidence to rise up.
After a steep fall, the only way is to go up.
A rebuild will happen after this.
Go Indiaaaa…still love you.

Best of luck to other teams, and Pakistan fans for the semis and finals.
 
hoshiarpurexpress said:
Everything that could go wrong, has went wrong this World Cup.
But, I will still follow and back my team and give them confidence to rise up.
After a steep fall, the only way is to go up.
A rebuild will happen after this.
Go Indiaaaa…still love you.

Best of luck to other teams, and Pakistan fans for the semis and finals.
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Spot on. Let's be positive and learn lessons from the failures.

Few lessons

1. Small boundaries in IPL should be scrapped

2. Allow Indian players to play in atleast one major league outside India

3. Indian fast bowlers looked very average. Plz bring players like umran malik

4. Indian media should learn humility and sense of responsibility. At the end of day players are human beings and opposite teams have come to play as well.

5. Stop bashing and hatred based on religion and nationalism. Kohli is the ideal man and he has already taken a massive step.

I am not going to say, allow Pak players to play IPL because that's what makes BJP come into power and stay in power. Its never going to change. But let's remember Hitler was the most popular democratically elected leader before creating havoc.

Sadly India is under populist politics and in the same direction of hyper religiosity hyper nationalism through media
 
Former Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq said the Indian team was "under pressure" and "scared" even before their T20 World Cup 2021 match against Pakistan had started. India lost their World Cup opener to Pakistan by 10 wickets - their first-ever defeat against the neighbours after 12 straight wins in all World Cup matches in different formats. India could never really recover from the early jolt and were knocked out from the Super 12 stage. India lost their next match to New Zealand by 8 wickets and even though they recovered by winning their next three matches against Afghanistan, Scotland and Namibia, it was not enough to take them forward to the semi-finals.

Questioning the body language of Indian players, Inzamam said the toss interview involving India skipper Virat Kohli and his Pakistan counterpart Babar Azam was evident that the official hosts were under pressure.

"I feel the Indians were scared even before the match started. Their body language, if you see Virat Kohli and Babar Azam's interview at the toss, you could sense who was under pressure," Inzamam said on ARY News.

India lost openers Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul to left-arm seamer Shaheen Shah Afridi, which put them under a lot of pressure but Inzamam felt the double wicket in the first three overs had little do with how the match shaped up.

"Our team's body language was much better than theirs. It wasn't that India were under pressure after Rohit Sharma's dismissal. Sharma himself was under pressure. It was evident that they all were under pressure even before the match began," Inzamam added.

Pakistan's third highest run-scorer in Test matches said India entered the tournament as one of the favourites but their performance was not up to the mark against Pakistan and New Zealand.

"Indian team never plays the way they did. They are a good T20 team, there is no doubt about it. If you look at their performance in the last 2-3 years, they were the favourites. But that India-Pakistan match put so much pressure on them that there was no looking back.

"Their feet weren't moving at all. After losing to Pakistan, they were handed so much criticism and there was a 3-4 day break. The poor guys couldn't even play Santner and Sodhi. They are such good players of spin. That pressure mounted on them." Inzamam said.

https://sports.ndtv.com/icc-t20-wor...ch-started-2625463#pfrom=home-ndtv_topstories
 
Mobashir said:
Not broken? Man Rohit's foot was almost broken on Shaheen's Yorker.
He clearly don't want to face a quality left arm pacer again with the new ball so decided to hide behind the little boy, Kishan.
Rohit Sharma is Mentally very fragile.
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He broke your left armers in the World cup and Asia cup, looks like you forgot that?

Although, no problem, a proper hammering is coming soon.
A mentally fragile player who scored 5 tons in World cup, let's see if any Pakistani emulates that.
 
Former India captain and current BCCI president Sourav Ganguly referred to India's performance in the recently-concluded T20 World Cup 2021 in the UAE and Oman as the "poorest" that he has seen "in last four-five years". India failed to qualify for the knockouts of the T20 World Cup. Their chances took a beating after they lost to Pakistan and New Zealand in the Super 12 stage. The Virat Kohli-led side had to depend on run-rate and results of other matches to stand a chance of qualifying for the semi-finals, which didn't happen.

India did beat Afghanistan, Scotland and Namibia in their next three matches comfortably but the stars did not align as Pakistan and New Zealand did not make a single mistake in the group and advanced to the last four stage of the tournament.

Ganguly said India were quite good in the 2017 Champions Trophy and the 2019 ODI Word Cup -- both in England but their performance in the 2021 T20 World Cup was not up to the mark.

"To be honest, 2017 [and] 2019, I think India was good. 2017 Champions Trophy we lost the final to Pakistan at the Oval, I was a commentator then. Then the 2019 World Cup in England, we were exceptional right throughout, beat everyone and lost to New Zealand in the semi-final -- one bad day and the entire good work for two months was just wiped away," he said in a conversation with Boria Majumdar on his show "Backstage with Boria."

"[I am] a little disappointed with the way we played this World Cup. I think this has been the poorest of all what I have seen in the last four-five years," added the former Indian captain.

Pakistan beat India by 10 wickets while New Zealand thrashed them by 8 wickets. The former opening batter did not point out any particular reason behind India's below-average show in the ICC event but added that the team did not play to it's full potential in their first two matches.

"I don't know what's the reason but I just felt they did not play with enough freedom this World Cup. Sometimes it happens in big tournaments, you just get stuck and when I saw them playing against Pakistan and New Zealand - I just felt this was the team which was playing to 15 per cent of its ability. And sometimes you can't just a finger on it that this is the reason why it happened," he added.

https://sports.ndtv.com/cricket/sou...cent-times-2637807#pfrom=home-ndtv_topstories
 
I think they were fatigued and overconfident. These two were the reasons why they did poorly.

Playing IPL right before the World T20 was a mistake. Also, why did they select "mysterious" Varun Chakrabarty? That was a blunder. Ashwin should've played instead.
 
sweep_shot said:
Also, why did they select "mysterious" Varun Chakrabarty? That was a blunder. Ashwin should've played instead.
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Only an out and out delusional guy will play someone like Varun over Ashwin and that too in UAE.

Our loss in WT20 is majorly on Kohli.
 
It is okay to lose T20s as long as you are winning tests.

If they win the 2023 World Cup, then surely it is the third best team of all-time.
 
Ab Fan said:
If they win the 2023 World Cup, then surely it is the third best team of all-time.
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Don't agree. We need to consistently win series/trophies to be called 3rd best team in cricket history.
 
Aw we are still discussing this. Sure toss played a big role in the loss of most of the sides. Indian T20 side is not good enough to handle crisis. The way Indian team is structured, India is required to have a near perfect game every match which is openers must click every match.
 
Despite winning their last three games in the tournament, Team India endured a horrid run in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2021 after suffering crushing defeats at the hands of arch-rivals Pakistan and their nemesis New Zealand in their first two games.

Pakistan won their tournament opener against India by 10 wickets owing to an unbeaten 152-run partnership between skipper Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan. If that was a thrashing, India were restricted to 110/7 in their next against New Zealand and were beaten by eight wickets.

Ravi Shastri, for whom it was the last assignment as head coach of the Indian team, shed the light on the team's poor performance in the two games as consecutive losses resulted in India getting knocked out from the group stage itself.

Speaking to Star Sports, Shastri said, "Pakistan played well on that day, and against New Zealand, we were timid. We were very timid. It showed in the game. We were tentative instead of going for the jugular. You never mind losing as long as you’re throwing punches. But if you’re timid and tentative then it hurts more. And in a tournament like this if you lose too early then you’re in trouble."

The 59-year old, however, was in the favour of the playoffs format in the World Cups as well, as the IPL while appreciating the round-robin format of the 2019 Cricket World Cup where every team plays every other team at least once, which according to him is the ideal way to decide World Cups.

"It’s not like the format in 2019, where you can play every opposition. I think that is the way to go forward. That format is the best, and then have the Playoffs ideally, if you want to decide the World Cup,” Shastri further said.

https://www.timesnownews.com/sports...-reason-behind-indias-losses-in-t20-wc/845474
 
"Don't Agree That We Were Playing Conservative Cricket": Rohit Sharma
Ahead of the five-match T20I series against West Indies, India captain Rohit Sharma said that he does not believe that India were playing conservative cricket ahead of the T20 World Cup last year.

India captain Rohit Sharma is back, after having rested for the ODI series against West Indies, and now he would be leading the side for the upcoming five-match T20I series, beginning Friday. Ahead of the series, Rohit addressed a press conference on Thursday, where he said that according to him, India were not playing conservative cricket in the shortest format last year ahead of the World Cup.

"We haven't gotten the result in the World Cup, that does not mean we were playing bad cricket. And I do not agree that we were playing conservative cricket, if you lose 1-2 matches in the World Cup, it seems like we did not take the chances. If you look at the games we have played before the World Cup, we won 80 per cent of those. I do not understand how can you win these many matches if you are conservative," said Rohit.

"We lost the World Cup, but it can happen, but that does not happen we were not playing freely. Lately, it is not like we have completely changed something, we have just given players the freedom to express themselves. If you play freely, performances will come out. The people on the outside should maintain peace, the way we are playing cricket, there will be failures and the results might not go our way, but it is okay as we are trying something. It can happen that mistakes take place but that does not mean that the players are bad. With time, everyone has to change, we are changing, so people on the outside also need to change," he added.

When asked about whether there are any spots to fill in the squad for the World Cup, Rohit said: "There are some spots that we need to fill, but we also know what we need to do to fill them. We will try to address all the issues in the coming matches, we want to give guys the freedom. We can talk about preparation and technique, but the players should be left alone when the match comes, we just want them to play like they do when playing for franchises or state teams. Our job is to eliminate the pressure, we are just trying to create an environment where guys can play freely."

"No, the composition is good, we have got a good mix of players who can cover all facets of the game. There are a few guys who have been rested also keeping in mind the workload and all of that. We also need to make sure that everyone is fresh, come the World Cup, we don't want to be having any injuries or niggles, we are trying to manage as much as possible with all the players. So yeah, I think it is important that guys here get an opportunity to play against West Indies. We look forward to that challenge," he added.

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Lastly, talking about Paddy Upton as a mental conditioning coach, Rohit said: "He has got so much experience working with different teams at different places. His inclusion in the team will help all of us. Definitely, he will bring the mental side of the game into the picture. He has worked with the Indian team before, he was part of the 2011 World Cup winning team and he has had a lot of success with franchise teams."

"I think he has got the experience, he knows a lot of our players as he has worked with them. As we know, the mental side of the game is really really important, with his ideology, I think it will help us. It was a great move to bring him in and let's see, what happens in the next few months. I am sure he will start his work, start talking to the players and get their thoughts," he added.

NDTV
 
India skipper Rohit Sharma felt that the side not getting results in previous editions of Men’s T20 World Cups doesn’t imply that India have been playing bad cricket and were conservative in their mindset.

Since winning the inaugural edition of the Men’s T20 World Cup in 2007, India haven’t been able to clinch the trophy. In last year’s T20 World Cup at the UAE, India went into the tournament as favourites but made an early exit in the Super 10 stage.

“We haven’t got the results in the World Cups but that doesn’t mean we were playing bad cricket for so many years. I don’t agree that we were playing conservative cricket. If you lose one odd game in the World Cup, it seems we were doing things wrong and we did not take our chances. But if you look at overall games, we have played leading into the World Cup, we won probably 80 per cent of our games. If you are conservative, then I can’t understand that how you are going to win these many games.

“We lost the World Cup, didn’t qualify. It does happen, but that does not happen we were not playing freely or were scared. Lately, it is not like we have completely made changes. We have just given players the freedom to play their game, express themselves and not take any pressure. If you play freely, performances will come out,” said Sharma ahead of first T20I.

Sharma also requested people outside the Indian team to be patient in getting consistent results from them. “The people on the outside should maintain peace. The way we are playing cricket, there will be failures and results might not go our way, but it is okay as we are trying something and making effort to do something different.

“It can happen that mistakes take place but that does not mean that the players are bad and team is not good. It’s just that we are trying to do something new. With time, everyone has to change. We are changing, so people on the outside also need to change their mind.”

Sharma admitted that there were some spots in the Indian team which need to be nailed in the run-up to the Men’s T20 World Cup in Australia in October-November and has asked for the players in the T20I series against the West Indies to play freely as if they are playing for their state or franchise sides.

“There are some spots that we need to fill. But we also know what we need to do to fill them. We will try to address all the issues in the coming matches. We want to give boys the freedom and tell them to play the way they want to. We can talk about preparation and technique, but when match time is on, the players should be left alone when the match comes.

“We just tell and want them to play like they do when playing for franchises or state teams. When you don’t take that much pressure there, then do the same here as well. There’s different pressure of international cricket. Our job is to reduce or completely eliminate the pressure. We are just trying to create an environment where guys can play freely and not think much about their performances.”

https://www.cricketcountry.com/news...india-played-bad-cricket-rohit-sharma-1033637
 
My squad for the T20 World Cup 2022:-

1. Rohit Sharma (c)
2. KL Rahul
3. Virat Kohli
4. Suryakumar Yadav
5. Hardik Pandya(all rounder)
6. Dinesh Karthik (wkt)
7. Ravindra Jadeja(all rounder)
8. Bhuvaneshwar Kumar
9. Arshdeep Singh
10. Jasprit Bumrah
11. Yuzvendra Chahal

12. Rishabh Pant(wkt)
13. Ishan Kishan
14. Deepak Hooda (all rounder)
15. Harshal Patel

Reserves :-

16. Deepak Chahar
17. Kuldeep Yadav
18. Axar Patel
 
The T20 World Cup last year did not prove to be a fruitful tournament for Team India as the then Virat Kohli-led side failed to progress to the semi-finals, after suffering losses against Pakistan and New Zealand in the Super 12s stage. Current skipper Rohit Sharma has opened up on what happened after the side failed to progress ahead in the tournament and what sort of equation he shares with now head coach Rahul Dravid.

"We have made it very clear after the T20 World Cup in Dubai, when we did not qualify and we felt there needs to be a change in our attitude, our approach, and how we play the game so we had the clear message given to the boys. They were ready to accept that challenge. Not too many chop and change in the squad. With Rahul Bhai, I have played some games with him, he was my first captain when I made my ODI debut so obviously, we have some sort of understanding," said Rohit on Star Sports' show 'Follow The Blues'.

"And when he became the coach here, we met and sat together in a room for a while and we decided how we want to take this team forward and he was pretty much on the same thought process of how I was thinking," he added.

Rohit took charge of India's white-ball cricket after the T20 World Cup last year. Earlier in 2022, Rohit was also made the Test captain after Virat Kohli stepped down following a series loss against South Africa.

Under Rohit, Team India had recently won the ODI and T20I series against England. The T20 World Cup will be played in Australia this year with India also set to square off against Pakistan at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

https://sports.ndtv.com/cricket/fel...ssage-given-to-team-after-last-t20-wc-3232713
 
1.Toss
2.Playing T20s as shortened version of ODIs
3.Wrong selections
4.Players too tired
5.Captaincy

However, last 1.5 years have showed us that India has got amazing depth of 20-25 players and it is visible in results too like drawing vs SA with a second string team or beating England and Windies in their own backyard. Beaten Windies by second string team.
 
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