Indian Cricket team went into the 2021 T20 World Cup as the favorites of the tournament. But what followed was a disappointing show that no one expected. For the first time since 2012, India failed to reach the knock-out stage of a tournament, as they crashed out in the Super 12 stage. Now, BCCI President and former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly has given his verdict on India’s poor show in the recent tournament.
Poorest in the last 4-5 years: Sourav Ganguly
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The Men-in-blue began their tournament with a horrifying loss to arch-rivals Pakistan. Pakistan defeated the Indian team by 10 wickets and created history. This was India’s first loss in a World Cup game against Pakistan.
In their second game of the tournament, India suffered a devastating defeat at the hands of eventual finalist New Zealand. The inaugural T20 World Cup Champions won their next three games against Afghanistan, Scotland, and Namibia comprehensively but it wasn’t enough to ensure qualification to the next round.
BCCI President Sourav Ganguly spoke about India’s performance in the global tournament for the first time since the event’s end. Ganguly delivered a harsh verdict on the Men in Blue’s display in the UAE and called it the poorest he has seen the Indian team play in the last 4-5 years.
Talking on journalist Boria Majumdar’s show ‘Backstage with Boria’, Ganguly said, “To be honest, 2017 [and] 2019, I think India was good. 2017 Champions Trophy we lost the final to Pakistan at the Oval, I was a commentator then. Then the 2019 World Cup in England, we were exceptional right throughout, beat everyone, and lost to New Zealand in the semi-final – one bad day, and the entire good work for two months was just wiped away.
He added, “[I am] a little disappointed with the way we played this World Cup. I think this has been the poorest of all what I have seen in the last four-five years.”
The team was playing to 15% of its ability: Sourav Ganguly
Sourav Ganguly also claimed that the team did not play with ‘freedom’ in the tournament and they showed only 15% of their ability.
“I don’t know what’s the reason but I just felt they did not play with enough freedom this World Cup. Sometimes it happens in big tournaments, you just get stuck and when I saw them playing against Pakistan and New Zealand – I just felt this was the team that was playing to 15% of its ability. And sometimes you can’t just a finger on it that this is the reason why it happened,” said Ganguly.
2021 T20 World Cup marked the end of the Kohli-Shastri era as Ravi Shastri stepped down as coach and Kohli left the T20 captaincy.
Highlights:
• Sourav Ganguly delivers his verdict on India’s performance in the 2021 T20 World Cup
• Ganguly feels India were playing at 15% of its capacity
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