"There are four-five very good teams, so you need luck on the day" - Sunil Gavaskar on Team India's chances at World Cup 2023
Sunil Gavaskar recently highlighted the importance of the luck factor for Team India in knockout games in the upcoming ICC ODI World Cup due to the presence of several contenders.
Gavaskar was part of the 1983 World Cup-winning Indian team and captained the 1985 World Championship-winning team. Following three titles between 2007 and 2013 under MS Dhoni, the Men in Blue have not tasted success at ICC events for the past decade.
Speaking on the sidelines of a promotional event, Gavaskar pointed to the semi-final of the 2019 World Cup against New Zealand to highlight the importance of luck in knockout games.
"At the last World Cup (2019) we had a match (semi-final versus New Zealand), which stretched into the second day," Sunil Gavaskar said. "If it had gone the proper full day we might have had a different story because the next day it was seaming conditions and the New Zealand bowlers could bowl well."
"So, I think you need a little bit of luck on the day. I mean there are four-five very good teams, so you need luck on the day," he added.
Gavaskar further added that despite boasting enormous talent within the squad, Team India have been undone by misfortune in the knockout stages.
"We have got immense talent, (but) in the knockout stage you need a little bit of luck on the day. If you look at our situation in the knockout stages where we have lost, we had ill luck just about every time," Gavaskar added.
Overall, India has been crowned World Champions thrice in their history - twice at the 50-over World Cup in 1983 and 2011 and once in the T20 format in 2007.
However, they suffered semi-final exits in the last two editions of the ODI World Cup in 2015 and 2019 against Australia and New Zealand, respectively.
"Any team which has all-rounders (will hold the edge)" - Sunil Gavaskar
Sunil Gavaskar firmly believes that all-rounders will hold the key to the team's success at the World Cup, highlighting the examples of the 2011 Indian Team and the 2019 English side.
While Team India are short on batters who can roll the arm over like in 2011, they boast two specialist all-rounders, who are likely to feature in the playing XI - Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja.
"You see MSD’s team also: Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag could all bowl. It was the biggest plus. So, any team which has all-rounders (will hold the edge). You look at England who won last year's T20 World Cup, look at the all-rounders they had. So, all-rounders are the key element," Gavaskar said.
The batting legend also felt that the verdict on Rohit Sharma among the folklore of Indian skippers hinges on the upcoming Asia Cup and the World Cup.
"At the end of the day you are judged by the number of trophies you have won, the numbers of wins you have. Winning these two tournaments ( Asia Cup and World Cup) will make him one of India’s greatest skippers," he adde
Rohit Sharma has experienced earth-shattering success at the IPL level, with five titles as the Mumbai Indians (MI) skipper. However, he failed to lead India to the title in the T20 World Cup last year and the World Test Championship (WTC) final two months back.
India will begin their Asia Cup campaign with a high-voltage clash against Pakistan in Palllekele on September 2. They will face off against five-time World Cup winners Australia to kick off their World Cup endeavor in Chennai on October 8.