- One of the most anticipated marquee events in the cricket world is the 50-over world cup which has its own charm, excitement, and entertainment quotient in great measures. Cricket enthusiasts would vociferously vouch and recollect how Indian cricket took off spectacularly when Kapil Dev led team won the 1983 world cup in England defeating the invincible West Indies in the final. Indian cricket was never the same again. The amount of interest generated with that particular triumph catapulted Indian cricket to stratospheric levels with huge money coming into the sport in the form of sponsorers galore. No wonder, millions of kids took to the game duly backed by parents who saw the potential of cricket as a professional career for their wards.
PC: Kaif
- And with the advent of the lucrative Indian Premier League T20 cricket tournament, the coffers of the Board of Control of Cricket in India have only swelled on the back of broadcasting and digital rights. So much so that any event featuring Team India, domestically or internationally, is bound to rake in huge monies since the diaspora spread around is crazy about cricket. As you are aware, the 50-over world cup is scheduled in India during the months of October-November this year. India is apparently considered one of the top four teams in the world alongside Australia, England, and New Zealand. Why only these teams, all others too have commenced preparations in right earnest. Team India too has got into the 50-over format to kick-start the preparations.
- Against this backdrop, the recently concluded three-match 50-over series between Australia and India should have set the tone for the latter in earnestly preparing for the big event. However, what eventually turned out for Team India in home conditions was unexpected. That Australia could comprehensively beat the home team with a 2-1 margin starkly exposed how Team India was found wanting on several fronts. The top-order failure to cash in on the home turf would be hurting the Indian think tank. Let’s see how the players performed. Captain Rohit Sharma failed to convert decent starts into something substantial and must be rankling the Hitman. The promising Shubhman Gill could not continue with the sparkling form shown in recent times.
PC: Vaibhav Pandey
- Except for one fifty-plus score in the third one-dayer, the talismanic Virat Kohli had nothing much to showcase. The biggest disappointment must be the way Surya Kumar Yadav got out in three successive matches. He was out without scoring a run and with golden ducks to boot. Needless to mention, he was found wanting with technique exploited fully by the Aussie speedsters, in particular Mitchell Starc. Of course, Indian bowlers did perform admirably but the absence of enough runs on the board meant they were always doing catchup. If Team India wishes to win the cup, every match from now on assumes importance, and the team should have at least 15 core cricketers in peak form before the world cup. Hopefully, things will fall into place in time.
