Legendary West Indian batsman Sir Viv Richards has stated that Rohit Sharma’s Indian squad may win the trophy and go undefeated in the 2023 World Cup. He asked the Men in Blue to put an end to any pessimistic ideas that a poor game was coming up.
The most dominant team in the current World Cup league stage is Team India. They will undoubtedly top the points table with eight victories in eight games, making them the only team in the competition not to have suffered a loss.
Despite being tipped as favorites to win the 2023 World Cup, India’s dismal performance in ICC quarterfinal matches has some supporters and critics concerned.
On the other hand, Richards wrote the following in his ICC column:
“I believe they [India] can go all the way unbeaten, which is really something to strive for. There may be some fears of ‘we have played so well so far, there may be a bad game around the corner in the semi-final’. They have to try and nullify those and banish any negative thoughts.”
Viv Richards
The 71-year-old, who played a significant role in the West Indies’ World Cup-winning teams in 1975 and 1979, gave India advice to remain with their aggressive strategy and not stray from the course that has given them all of their tournament success thus far.
“India have a mindset that they can go all the way playing like this. That absolutely should be their mindset and would be mine if I was in that dressing room – let’s go out with all guns blazing. That approach has worked so far and if that changes, things may go astray.”
Viv Richards
In both the 2015 and 2019 ODI World Cups, India advanced to the semifinals but was unable to advance to the championship game.
“Some folks were even brave enough to call for his head” – Viv Richards on Virat Kohli
Richards previously mentioned that he is an admirer of the Indian cricketer Virat Kohli. The former West Indian captain firmly believes that Kohli belongs to the league of cricket legends alongside names, like Sachin Tendulkar.
“I am a huge fan of Virat, I have been for a long time, and he continues to show why he has to go down as one of the all-time greats, right up there with the likes of the great Sachin.”
Viv Richards
Viv Richards gave the Indian team management and selectors credit for helping the player get through a very trying time.
“Virat will have been through some tough times before this World Cup and some folks were even brave enough to call for his head. Credit must be given to the backroom staff and everyone who backed him. So much was said about his form but he is back on top of his game.”
Viv Richards
With five hundred and forty-three runs in eight innings at an average of 108.60 and a strike rate of 88.29, Kohli leads Team India in runs scored in the 2023 World Cup.