#T20WorldCup21: Why #TeamIndia Hasn’t Done Well

#TeamIndia is virtually out of the #T20WorldCup21 semi-final race and so, here is a look at why they find themselves in such a bad situation.

Read: #PakvsNZ: Haris Rauf & Asif Ali Lead Pakistan To Another Victory

IPL Left #TeamIndia Fatigued Before The #T20WorldCup21

Indian Premier League or the IPL was rescheduled in UAE this year owing to reasons relating to COVID19 and it ended days before the T20 world cup. Clearly, the Indian team entered the mega event fatigued following the franchise based tournament and hence, it is no surprise that they have lost both games that they have played so far. 

Read: #PAKvsIndia: Pakistanis Celebrate Their #MaukaMauka Moment

The Loss To Pakistan

The loss to Pakistan definitely came down as a shock to the Indian side that entered the contest last week as favorites. India then pretty evidently played their next big game of the event (i.e. against New Zealand) while they were still recovering from the embarrassment that followed after the 10 wicket loss to the arch-rivals.

Former Pakistani pacer, Aaqib Javed while appearing as an expert on PTV explained that the same point while emphasizing that the Indian batting line is yet to get over the Shaheen Afridi spell that rocked them during the #PakvInd contest. While highlighting India’s negative mind set the Lahore Qalandar head coach said, “Rohit Sharma is one of the best players in T20 cricket but after one blow of Shaheen Shah Afridi, you changed your openers. You brought in Ishan Kishan as he is a leftie because they were afraid of putting two righties against [Trent] Boult, so Rohit was made to bat at number three. It was only two overs [opening spell] and being the one of the best in the world, Rohit should have gone out as an opener rather than hiding.” 

Read: Wasim Akram Criticizes Media, Not Impressed With Ramiz Raja

Media Pressure

The media pressure prior to the start of the T20 world cup and after the defeat to Pakistan has certainly not helped the cause. Media in India portrayed the Indians as the best side ever before the mega ICC event and as the worst ever after Team India’s defeat against Pakistan. Perhaps the time is right for the Indian media to show a little more maturity next time. It is not that the Indian team wasn’t good enough but perhaps they failed completely to manage the unfair pressure of expectations that was build by their media houses.

Read: #T20WorldCup: Pakistan Will Need These 5 Players To Perform Big

Virat Kohli Still Optimistic

To qualify for the semi-finals now, India will have to win all of their remaining three matches with a big margin. Moreover, they also need other results to go in their favor. Given the scenario, it is highly unlikely that Virat Kohli’s team will qualify for the next round still the Indian skipper remained optimistic following the loss to Kiwis and said, “I don’t think we were brave enough with the bat or ball. With the ball obviously we didn’t have much to play with. But we were just not brave enough in our body language when we entered the field. There’s only one way to play T20 cricket, you have to be optimistic, you have to be positive, and take calculated risks. That’s what this format is all about. I think we’ll be fine. There’s a lot of cricket in this tournament and something that we all must look forward to. Certainly the team must look forward to and go with a positive frame of mind.”