Former Indian opener Virender Sehwag has challenged the current team to play brave cricket without regard for the outcome of the 2023 World Cup semi-final against New Zealand on November 15 in Mumbai.
The Men in Blue are leading the points table and have won all nine of their league-stage matches, demonstrating their incredible form. But before to experiencing a stunning upset in the semi-final matchup with the same opponent in the 2019 World Cup, the team was in a similar situation.
Speaking on the sidelines of an event, Sehwag remembers head coach Gary Kirsten expressing similar remarks prior of India’s successful 2011 World Cup knockouts.
“Play fearless and give your best,” Sehwag said. “Don’t think about the results. If eleven players give their best, they will win. When we were chatting before the games, everyone was telling each other to give your best. No praising amongst each other. Gary Kirsten also ensured there was no negativity in the dressing room. That worked for us.”
Virender Sehwag
Sehwag also commended skipper Rohit Sharma for his captaincy and top-order batting.
“He’s been batting freely for a while. But now that he is the captain, he is taking more responsibility to get good starts and score a lot of runs. It’s also amazing how he is taking care of Shubman Gill.”
Virender Sehwag
Rohit Sharma has been in fantastic form, scoring 503 runs at an average of 55.88 and a strike rate of 121.49, including three half-centuries and a century. His early starts have been critical in Team India’s spectacular batting performances throughout the competition.
“You need a bit of luck in knockout games” – Virender Sehwag
Virender Sehwag also agreed that, aside from playing brilliant cricket, a bit of luck in knockout games is crucial ahead of India’s semi-final encounter.
The 45-year-old was a key member of the Indian team that won both the 2011 ODI World Cup and the 2007 T20 World Cup.
“You need a bit of luck in knockout games, but you also need to play well. I remember against Pakistan in 2011, we had only scored 260 or so. But our bowlers bowled well to win the match. This Indian team is definitely playing good cricket.”
Virender Sehwag
Sehwag also rejected the idea of shortening the number of overs to 40 in ODIs to increase the thrill of the game. He commended England for their exciting style of cricket displayed in Tests.
“Why change? If somebody wants to play shorter formats, they can play T20,” he continued. “Except England, all of them are playing in a similar way. Everybody is trying to do bat the same way. If you want to win Test matches, you have to do something different. Indian team is winning because of the bowlers.
“Every team can’t play like England. But I think it’s kind of cricket, other teams should play. If people want to entertain, batters must play little better than what they are doing.”
Virender Sehwag
Despite their impressive recovery in Tests, England had a terrible 2023 World Cup campaign, winning only three of nine games.
Their shift to an aggressive style of cricket, however, helped them win the 2019 ODI World Cup and the 2022 T20 World Cup.