The 2022 T20 World Cup is all set to take centerstage and India need their star performers like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya at their best to bring the trophy back home. The Men in Blue always enter any ICC tournament as a favourite but this time they will feel some added pressure after their disappointing show in the last edition. The Indian team gets massive support from the fans in the stands wherever they play but the Asian Giants have failed to win any ICC trophy since 2013.
They are touted as the new chokers in international cricket looking at their recent history. India succumbed under pressure in the 2017 Champions Trophy final, then the same happened to them in the 2019 ODI World Cup final. They also lost the 2021 ICC World Test Championship final.
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Meanwhile, India have played a new brand of cricket this year under the leadership of Rohit Sharma and the guidance of head coach Rahul Dravid. After playing the T20 format with a conservative approach till last year, India have been embracing the ultra-attacking approach in 2022 which has worked for them on several occasions. The batting depth in the squad allows the Indian team to go all guns blazing in the shortest format of the game.
Veteran England spinner Graeme Swann in an exclusive conversation with News18 CricketNext, talked about the new fearless batting approach of India. Swann said that India have to continue with the same approach and if they don’t there are chances that a team like Australia will hammer them in the T20 World Cup.
“I think it’s (ultra-attacking approach) the right way to go for every team. If India don’t do that, they will get hammered by other teams who do it. In 2015 World Cup England were still playing with the conservative approach in 50-over cricket, whereas other teams in the tournament, South Africa, New Zealand and Australia went the ultra-attacking route. They absolutely crush everyone in that tournament. England went away from there and started embracing the same fearless approach in the ODI format and it worked. I don’t think they have done the same in T20 yet. They are slightly holding themselves back, I hope India go all guns blazing because they need that against teams like Australia and Pakistan,” Swann told News18 Cricketnext on the sidelines of Legends League Cricket 2022.
Swann also talked about how the form of India’s Virat Kohli impacts the TV ratings as he wants the batting maverick, who recently returned to form, to do well with the bat in the upcoming T20 World Cup.
“India need Virat Kohli to fire. I’ve worked for the TV side and I know there is a desperate need for Virat Kohli to do well as it was with MS Dhoni. If those guys don’t do well TV ratings go down and people get disillusioned. I want Virat Kohli to do well, when I used to play against India, I never minded Virat Kohli’s batting. I liked watching him bat up close, trust me if you think you think he looks good while batting from the stands and on TV, you should stand at a backward point or cover, it’s gorgeous to watch him bat,” Swann added.
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Kohli has been the biggest star in the world of cricket in the past decade and he enjoyed a massive fan following all across the globe which also helped the game of cricket grow further. The batting maestro has proved his prowess with the bat on several occasions which also paved a way for him to become an icon in the country who is followed by every age group of people. In a country where people are obsessed with cricketers, Kohli has been holding the numero-uno spot amongst the fans for the past many years and it is also reflected in his brand endorsement deals.
The legendary English spinner also feels that people undersold Kohli’s century against Afghanistan in Asia Cup 2022 as he said that Mohammad Nabi’s team has a quality bowling attack.
“I hope Virat just come good and it was incredible that he didn’t score a hundred for 2-3 years in international cricket because that player is amazing. People will say he scored his 71st ton against Afghanistan, that’s really bad on Afghanistan because they are a good team. They got one of the best bowling attacks, they beat Sri Lanka who went on to win the Asia Cup trophy,” he added.
The 43-year-old is currently playing in Legends League Cricket where he is representing the Gujarat Giants franchise. The spinner talked about his transition from the commentary box to playing on the field and with honesty, he admitted that it hasn’t been very smooth for him at his age.
“Transition from playing to commentary box was quite a smooth one, quite enjoyable. And coming back to playing is not that smooth as our bodies are older but I have enjoyed it. One thing is when you do commentate you always want to be out there, you missed out on playing with the team, you missed travelling with the team. I have really enjoyed being part of Gujarat Giants, it’s been great from that point of view. I have enjoyed bowling and batting as well,” he said.
Swann also shared his views on Rohit Sharma’s form as the Indian captain has not been able to manufacture big runs with the bat this year. Rohit has scored just two half-centuries in T20Is this year but Swann predicts that the swashbuckling opener is going to get a hundred in the upcoming T20 WC.
“It’s just form, when you play cricket, this gets thrown around a lot the captaincy pressure and everything. People used to say about Virat at RCB. As a batsman, you are not thinking about captaincy when you go out and bat, you go out with a clear mind and focus on the ball. Rohit is definitely the player who will get a hundred in the T20 World Cup, I have absolutely no doubt about it. I have no worries about Rohit Sharma he is the right man to lead and he has not been at his best form but India are consistently posting big scores,” Swann said.
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