Four years ago, right from the moment the World Cup started, there was a sense of inevitability surrounding the cup. It was Sachin’s last World Cup, and there was no doubt (at least in my head) that we were going to win the cup. The players wanted to win it for him and they put their bodies on the line. It was pleasantly surprising to see the likes of Munaf Patel and Ashish Nehra dive around. Zaheer Khan was bowling like the best bowler in the world while Yuvraj was a man possessed. Somewhere down their hearts, Harbhajan and Sehwag knew it was their last World Cup as well. Gambhir, now a walking wicket, was the mainstay of the batting order.
We won’t give it back! Seriously? Hopefully!
This time around, we have been in Australia since three and a half months and have a solitary win against Afghanistan to show. Injuries have plagued the team like flu and out of nowhere, we are dependent on Rohit Sharma, who was the butt of all cricketing jokes only an year ago. Our bowling attack is weaker than most of the associate nations and there doesn’t seem to be a sense of inevitability or hype barring the clichéd ‘#WontGiveItBack.’
I’m usually an optimist and don’t criticize my favorite teams a lot, but for me, the run up to the World Cup has been disappointing. I’m not even talking about the losses in the tri-series in Australia; just the spirit in the dressing room and that of the players!
I’m glad that we have someone as calm and composed like Dhoni leading the team and the world’s best batsman in Kohli. That being said, we can’t count out the likes of Rohit Sharma, and Ajinkya Rahane, who can be the man to turn to in troublesome times. All said and done, reaching the semifinals should be a good result for us although I pray, wish and hope our demigods prove me wrong by going a couple of steps higher.
C’mon India!
Tags: Cricket, CWC 2015, ICC Cricket World Cup 2015, India, World Cup
