Team India's quest for the ICC trophy since 2013 still continues but their long awaited drought can come to an end in the upcoming ODI World Cup 2023 which they will be hosting later this year.
Over the year the Men in Blue have followed the same pattern of crashing at the bigger stage of ICC events. Despite coming so close to the trophy Indian team has been seen wilting under pressure in the finals and semifinals which have kept them bereft of the coveted trophy since long.
But Rohit Sharma-led India will look to make it all happen in the upcoming World Cup which is set to kick off from October 5 where England will be locking horns with New Zealand in the campaign opener. Team India will open their campaign against Australia on October 8 in Chennai.
Meanwhile, India's World Cup winning bowler and spin legend Harbhajan Singh has a piece of advice for Rohit's brigade heading into the World Cup. Harbhajan said that despite the star-studded side which boast of players like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya, India need to step up as a team, in order to taste the ODI World Cup title. He went on to say that only couple of players have been performing during high-pressure situations but if India have to clinch trophy all the players should have the ability to rise to the occasion in tense matches.
"I don't know, it's very difficult for me to say what we had and they don't. We played till the semi-finals in 2015 and 2019, the ICC trophy didn't come. Maybe the ability to punch back after absorbing the pressure has probably been seen in only one or two players. You need to play big tournaments as a team," Harbhajan told News24 Sports.
"You have Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya - they are big players but along with these three players, the rest of the eight to ten players and the team management, everyone has to walk together with the same motive," he added.
"The small-small things like saving a single or a brilliant run-out, all those are also huge things. So when the team plays as a unit, they can produce bigger results and that is what probably our team did better. Maybe they are much better than our team talent-wise," Harbhajan concluded.
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