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Former India captain Gautam Gambhir, who played an important role in Team India's T20 World Cup win in 2007 and ODI World Cup triumph in 2011, delivered a nugget of wisdom as he underlined the importance consistency for the Men in Blue if they plan on ending the ICC trophy drought in 2023. Under Rohit Sharma's captaincy, India suffered an unceremonious end to their 2022 T20 World Cup campaign in Australia after losing the semi-final by 10 wickets against eventual champions England.
India were primed to go the distance Down Under after having played excellent cricket leading up to the ICC tournament. Gambhir highlighted that too many changes to the playing XI have hindered India when it comes to winning an ICC tournament. The former captain reckons that seasoned stars like Rohit and Virat Kohli need to play cricket consistently rather than taking breaks from time to time.
"You need to identify the core as well which is very important. We chopped and changed too many things, too frequently as well. We never had a settled unit. And more importantly, you can't keep on taking breaks. If the World Cup is around the corner, if you are playing the 50-over World Cup then at least our core, whether it is Virat Kohli or Rohit Sharma, all these guys have to play consistent cricket," Gambhir told ESPNCricinfo.
"They can't keep on taking breaks. Suddenly, you will realise that by the time the World Cup is around the corner, you still don't have a settled unit and then you start making too many changes, it will never work. That's what happening for the last two World Cups, whether it is T20 or 50-over World Cup. So, I hope that guys don't take much breaks, especially in the 50-over format," he observed.
The Men in Blue will compete in the ODI World Cup at home in 2023 and expectations will be immense from Team India to emerge triumphant in a familiar setting.
