The last time Team India won an ICC tournament was a decade ago in 2013 when MS Dhoni-led Men in Blue conquered England and emerged victorious in the Champions Trophy. Since then, the Indian side has consistently made the knockout of ICC events but in win-or-go-home contests, the Men in Blue have ended up taking the flight back to India.
Later in the year, Rohit Sharma-led India would have another golden opportunity to bring an end to the trophy drought and replicate the historic achievement of Dhoni-led India in 2011. India will host the ODI World Cup in October-November later in the year and, expectations are high for the Men in Blue to reign supreme on home turf.
What does Team India need to end its trophy drought in ICC competitions? This is one question that has lingered in the minds of Indian cricket followers for a long time now. Former India spinner Harbhajan Singh, who was part of the Indian team that won the 2007 T20 World Cup and 2011 ODI World Cup, reckons that the team needs to play big tournaments as collective unit and everyone should be able to absorb the pressure.
"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.
"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 2023 ODI World Cup is scheduled to begin on October 5 with the final of the quadrennial competitions slated to be played on November 19.
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