Despite India's 11-year trophy drought in major ICC tournaments, head coach Rahul Dravid remains optimistic heading into T20 World Cup 2024. Speaking ahead of their T20 World Cup opener against Ireland, Dravid emphasised the team's strong recent performances. He acknowledged the challenges in knockout stages but downplayed the ‘trophy jinx’ narrative. Dravid has a clear-cut message for Team India, which is to replicate their recent good form and securing a spot in the knockout rounds, where they'll aim to overcome the final hurdle and bring home the trophy.
Coach Rahul Dravid has his eyes set on T20 World Cup trophy
"To be very honest with you, I think we've actually played really well in these World Cup tournaments. In terms of our consistency, we've been very consistent. Obviously making the semi-final in Australia (2022). The World Test Championship is slightly different, it's not one tournament, but it's a whole cycle but playing extremely well in that cycle to get to the final there again," Dravid said in the pre-match press conference.
"And then we know the 50-over World Cup where we had a great run and went into the final. So, in terms of our consistency and quality of cricket that we have played in these big tournaments, we've been right up there with some of the best teams," he added.
Coach Rahul Dravid is aiming to break India's ICC trophy drought at the upcoming T20 World Cup. This comes after a string of near misses under his leadership and that of Rohit Sharma.
In 2022, India's T20 World Cup campaign ended in a heartbreaking semi-final loss to England. The following year, they fell short in the World Test Championship final against Australia. The most recent disappointment came at the ODI World Cup last year, where India's 10-match winning streak was halted by Australia in the final. Under Rohit Sharma's captaincy, India entered the ODI World Cup final as favorites. However, Pat Cummins' exceptional bowling performance for Australia proved too much to overcome.
India's last major ICC trophy at the senior level came in 2013 under MS Dhoni's captaincy, when they triumphed in the Champions Trophy. While they did win the Asia Cup last year, the elusive major trophy remains out of reach.
Dravid acknowledges the importance of leaving past disappointments behind as India embarks on this new trophy hunt with Rohit Sharma at the helm.
"Yes, we probably haven't been able to get across the line in the knockout game. So, we just probably haven't been able to execute in that last phase. So, hopefully we play good cricket to get ourselves into those positions again and then maybe play good cricket on the day to cross the line. The important thing is when you start these tournaments is not to think about that (trophy jinx), is to actually think about getting into those positions. You have to find yourselves in those positions where you are pushing for glory and that's all you can do as a group and as a team," Dravid concluded.
Notably, India are pitted against USA, Pakistan, Canada and Ireland in Group A. Their journey kicks off against Ireland, followed by a much-anticipated clash against Pakistan at the Nassau County Cricket Stadium in New York on June 9. The rest of the group stage includes matches against the USA and Canada.
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