According to former India opener Gautam Gambhir, the Men in Blue must play brave cricket if they are to break their ICC tournament curse and win knockout matches.
The Men in Blue have performed admirably at home in the 2023 ODI World Cup under Rohit Sharma’s leadership. They are the only team still unblemished in the competition, having won each of their first eight league-stage games. India will likely encounter New Zealand in the first semi-final after finishing first in the points table thanks to their outstanding performance.
Even though India is favored to win, there are some concerns given their recent performance in ICC knockout matches. The Men in Blue lost to New Zealand in 2019 and to Australia in the 2015 World Cup semifinals.
During a Q&A session on Sportskeeda’s YouTube channel, Gambhir was questioned about if India may break their ICC knockout curse with a remarkable innings similar to the one he played in the 2011 World Cup final. Gambhir shot back, disagreeing:
“Absolutely not. I don’t like talking too much about my own innings because I think it is done and dusted. It happened 12 years back. What India lacks is probably they need to be more courageous. I am sure they would have learnt that from the experiences of 2015, 2019 [World Cups] and World Test Championship [WTC] finals. You can only win knockouts if you show courage.”
Gautam Gambhir
Gautam Gambhir added:
“The best way to win semi-finals and finals is by playing positive cricket. Do what you need to do out in the middle. Things will be fine.”
Gautam Gambhir
Since winning the Champions Trophy in 2013, India has not triumphed in any format of an ICC event. They lost to Australia in the WTC final earlier this year and were destroyed by 10 wickets by England in the 2022 T20 World Cup semi-final.
Gautam Gambhir asks fans to be patient with India in knockouts
In response to criticism of India’s ICC knockout results, Gambhir asked supporters to be patient in the event that the team does not advance further.
Noting that in a situation like this, the players feel the most let down, he came to the following conclusion:
“The world will not come to an end. Life will not end. Sun will rise again. What if India doesn’t win the World Cup final? What if they don’t win the World Cup semi-final? There will be disappointment, people will be sad. No fan, commentator or expert will be more disappointed that the 15-20 people in the dressing room. It’s important to understand that.”
Gautam Gambhir
India and New Zealand will likely play in the first 2023 World Cup semi-final on November 15 at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium.