Former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar said that the pitch chosen by Team India for the 2023 ODI World Cup final against Australia was a “blunder”, being critical of the captain-coach duo of Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid for controlling off-field stuff “a little too much”.
On November 19, two years back, India’s memorable run at the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup at home did not reach its fairytale ending as their fiery batting line-up scored just 240 on a tough Ahmedabad pitch against Australia. Despite having Australia at a spot of bother at 47/3, a counter-attack from centurion Travis Head took Australia to their sixth 50-over crown, handing India a loss, causing a pain that even winning two white-ball ICC titles later could not really heal. Manjrekar was speaking on ‘Rise of Champions’ on JioHotstar.
Manrejkar Hailed Team India
Speaking during the programme, Manjrekar said that while he is proud of the Team India which played the tournament and looked like “the best team in the world”, he criticised team’s decision to go with a slow pitch and removing the advantage of pace coming on the bat for batters like Suryakumar Yadav, who could have played a crucial role in final 10 overs had conditions been right enough for his T20I style hitting.
“I was very proud of that Indian team that played in the 2023 ODI World Cup because it looked like the best team in the world. India, with Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid, tried to control things off the field a little too much. The pitch they chose was a blunder. We saw that batters like Suryakumar Yadav are not the same when the pace is taken off on a slow pitch,” said Manjrekar.
Applauds Rohit
Also, former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar hailed Rohit for his leadership, saying, “India got off to flying starts with Rohit Sharma scoring most of the runs. He set an example for others to play in that way and keep the scoreboard moving.”
Rohit ended the tournament as the second-highest run-getter, with 597 runs in 11 innings at an average of 54.27 with a stunning strike rate of 125.94, including a century and three fifties. He also hit a total of 31 sixes in the tournament and set a template of fiery powerplay batting with opener Shubman Gill, which gave Team India a cushion of extra runs after the conclusion of the powerplay.
Former spin legend Harbhajan Singh opined that the “expectation and pressure” of winning shifted India’s focus.
“I think that was the pressure of playing a big final. The expectation to win shifted their focus. Their focus drifted, and that is why we fell behind in that match,” he said.
Also, former Australian cricketer Matthew Hayden said, “Everyone just celebrated that India would win easily at home. They forgot it is a sports field and there are two teams racing. One was better prepared. They are a dominant team, but losing the World Cup at home is a huge loss. I don’t know how you move on from that. With 1.4 billion people, you should beat anyone on the planet.”
Now that the ICC T20 World Cup, the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, and the maiden ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup are secured, the focus shifts to T20I action, with the T20 World Cup starting on February 7, and India playing the USA in their opening clash. They are placed in Group A alongside Pakistan, Namibia, Netherlands and the USA. The tournament is being co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka.
