India’s quest for an ICC trophy has been elusive since their 2013 Champions Trophy triumph. Despite coming close at the 2019 ODI World Cup, they fell short in the final against Australia. Former opener Virender Sehwag believes that India’s lack of fearlessness contributed to their defeat.
In the 2019 World Cup final, India’s batting faltered after a promising start by Rohit Sharma. Sehwag emphasizes that India needs to adopt a fearless approach, especially between the 11th and 40th overs. He cites his own experience from 2007-08 to 2011, where India treated every match as a knockout game.
“We used to treat every match as a knockout match, a World Cup semifinal; if we lose, we are out (of the tournament),” Sehwag explains. “So from 2007-08 to 2011, we won a lot of tournaments and prepared for the World Cup.”
Sehwag believes that India should adopt this mindset and play every match as if it were a knockout game. “That mindset is needed in that (Indian) dressing room when you go into a knockout match, you play fearlessly, with bravery, play with some risk. That, I think is lacking.”
India’s bowlers started well in the 2019 World Cup final, but Travis Head’s match-winning century turned the tide in Australia’s favor. Sehwag believes that India needs to be more aggressive in their approach and take calculated risks.
“I think that mindset is needed in that (Indian) dressing room when you go into a knockout match, you play fearlessly, with bravery, play with some risk. That, I think is lacking.”
