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The humiliating defeat in T20 World Cup 2022 semi-final against England has raised many questions. After the defeat, skipper Rohit Sharma was asked about Indian players’ inability to perform in pressure ICC knockout games whereas coach Rahul Dravid was asked why Indian players don’t participate in Big Bash League (BBL) which may help them get some insight. While Rohit said that you cannot teach players “how to handle pressure”, Dravid said that doing this will pose a major threat to red-ball cricket.
In the aftermath, former Pakistan skipper Shahid Afridi teared into Team India and the board's approach while building a team despite big investments.
"These things will now be noticed, when you win these things are brushed under the carpet. Today India lost and everyone's reflecting on the loss. But if we look closely, the Indian team need a leader after Ganguly and Dhoni. Someone, who leads the team from the front. After Dhoni, they tried Virat but they didn't achieve outstanding results. Right now Rohit is the captain and we still don't see any commendable performances,” Afridi said on Samaa TV.
“A leader's role is extremely important, their performances are very crucial. IPL is played for over two months, a lot of players get opportunity and despite that if India are failing to build a team, then in my opinion, they have a lot of work to do. The board needs to think, where are we making mistake, because they've invested a lot of money in cricket and a lot of players have also emerged. If you don't go out and win big tournaments, then it is a sign of worry.”
India have not won a single major ICC event since ICC Champions Trophy 2013. They have been knocked out at semi-final four times since (two T20 World Cup and two ODI World Cup). In addition, India lost in the final of the inaugural World Test Championship final as well.
