'Can't blame one individual, one captain; need a combined effort' - Ravi Shastri on India’s ICC trophy drought

Despite trying new combinations, strategies and even new coaches and captains, India have failed to lift a an ICC trophy since 2013, with a certain section of fans terming the team as "chokers". However, former India head coach Ravi Shastri feels that is not the case. The 1983 World Cup-winning cricketer mentioned that the team is playing good cricket but is failing to make it count when it matters the most.

Shastri said that the reason behind India’s failure is that not everyone is putting in equal efforts. Shastri mentioned that only India and Australia were the favourites to win all three cups in the recent past but the Indian batters failed to step up on the big stage the reason behind India’s downfall at ICC events.

“I would not say that (chokers). I mean, these two teams that were playing [India and Australia] were the only two teams that had a chance to win all three World Cups. And it is not that we have been rolled over (at World Cups). We have been in semi-finals, we have been in finals. We have not got it because when you want to win the big one, you need a combined effort. You cannot blame one individual, one captain," the former India head coach said while talking to The Week.

“You need 100s in a World Cup, World Test Championship final. Then you have a good chance of setting it up for the bowlers and winning the trophy. If you do not get a 100, you need at least three 50s, whether it is Test, T20 or one-day cricket. If you have not done that, you do not deserve to win,” he added.

Meanwhile, India are once again the favourites to win the upcoming ODI World Cup. However, there remain quite a few obstacles as the Rohit Sharma-led side will be eager to see KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer and Jasprit Bumrah recover before the big tournament.