Former Indian wicket-keeper batsman Saba Karim believes it will be a great opportunity for Virat Kohli and the Indian team to end their hoodoo at the ICC major events. India last won a major trophy back in 2013 when MS Dhoni led the team to glory in the Champions Trophy.
India lost the final of the 2014 T20 World Cup, semifinal of 2015 World Cup, final of 2017 Champions Trophy, semifinal of 2019 World Cup and the final of the World Test Championship. Meanwhile, there will be three back to back World Cups and Karim believes it would be great if Team India goes to win the coveted title in 2021, which will give them a lot of confidence for the next two big events.
India has been one of the consistent teams in all the three formats of the game. Furthermore, the Virat Kohli-led team has ticked the right boxes throughout the major events but they haven’t been able to cross the final hurdle as they have not won the crucial stages of the big matches.
Saba Karim said while talking to India News, “It is a great opportunity for Virat Kohli and the Indian team, that there are going to be back-to-back three World Cups. If they get off to a good start and win the first World Cup, the belief will be there that India will perform well and we can get those World Cups in our hands as well.”
Karim added that India has all the ingredients to go all the way in the major events and the side needs to execute their plans to perfection in the big match.
“I feel we have the team also, we have the passion as well and the biggest thing is that we have a huge number of cricket fans. It is just the wait now that the plans we have made and the preparations we have done, they need to be implemented properly,” remarked Karim.
India was set to host the 2021 World Cup but the event will now be played in the UAE due to Covid-19 situation in India. The Indian players will get used to the UAE conditions as they will play in the IPL before the T20I showpiece. The T20 World Cup will begin from October 17 and the final will be played on November 14.
