The highly-anticipated ICC T20 World Cup 2024 will give India another opportunity to end their long wait for a World Cup trophy. While the Men in Blue have thoroughly dominated the bilateral series in the last one decade or so, the same cannot be said about their performance in the World Cup.
India have done well in the league or the group stages of the competitions but have struggled to win the knockout games. Even last year when they looked almost unbeatable in the ODI World Cup at home, they ended up losing the final against Australia. The defeat further extended India’s long wait for an ICC trophy.
India have not won the World Cup in any format since 2011 while they last won an ICC trophy back in 2013. The Men in Blue have also not won the T20 World Cup since 2007. And as they gear up for the 2024 T20 World Cup, former captain Sourav Ganguly has come up with an important piece of advice for them.
In a recent event, the former India skipper began by heaping praise on India’s squad depth and called the team a ‘fantastic side’. He further said that India will have to play freely in order to excel in the competition.
“We hope that India will play well. All the players are good. There are so many players in our country that it becomes difficult to select the playing XI. We are spoiled for choices. They have a fantastic side,” Ganguly told ANI.
“This is Rahul Dravid’s job because he is the coach. We will just watch and cheer for India. I would just like to say that we have to play freely in the T20 format,” he added when asked to offer guidance to the Rohit Sharma-led side.
India eye second T20 World Cup 2024:
The T20 World Cup will get underway on Sunday (June 2) with the game between co-hosts USA and Canada in Dallas. India, on the other hand, will open their campaign on June 5. The Men in Blue are drawn in Group A along with Ireland, Pakistan, USA, and Canada. They will take on Ireland in their first game of the tournament.
India are eyeing their second T20 World Cup. They have the opportunity to become the first Asian team to win the tournament twice. In the last edition, India crashed out at the semifinal stage after a humiliating 10-wicket loss against eventual champions England and will be looking to make amends this year.
