Suresh Raina refuses to call Team India ‘chokers', backs Virat Kohli’s men to win an ICC trophy soon

Team India has indeed developed a knack of flunking in the knock-out games of major events. Since their triumph in the 2013 Champions Trophy, India has featured in as many as seven ICC tournaments. Although they crossed the group stages in all these competitions, emerging victorious in the knock-out clashes has been a problem for them. India’s latest disappointment in an ICC tournament was their loss against New Zealand in the World Test Championship final last month.

Virat Kohli’s men put a commendable fight in the summit clash, but the Kiwis eventually walked away with an eight-wicket triumph. India’s regular failures in knock-out games have earned them a title of ‘chokers.’ However, former Indian batsman Suresh Raina is of a different opinion.  Highlighting that India has three World Cup titles, the southpaw asked fans to respect the team.

“See, we are not chokers, because we already have the 1983 World Cup, 2007 T20 World Cup the then 50-over World Cup in 2011. We need to understand that players are training hard. With three World Cups approaching, I don’t think anyone will call them chokers,” the left-handed batsman told News24 Sports.

We need to respect the new style of this team: Suresh Raina

The Chennai Super Kings batsman also predicted that India will win an ICC Trophy within two years. “We need to give them a little more time. They are doing well and Virat (Kohli) has the capability to change the game. We need to respect the new style of this team. But I feel that in the next 12 to 16 months, an ICC trophy is going to come to India,” he asserted.

Speaking of the WTC final loss, Raina said that a poor batting show cost India the game. “The WTC final was one such example. People said it was because of the conditions but I feel there was something lacking in batting. The bigger batsmen will have to stitch partnerships and take responsibilities,” he explained.

Meanwhile, the T20 World Cup later this year is the next ICC event in the pipeline. With India doing well in the shortest international format lately, many are backing them to go all the way in UAE. Hence, it would be interesting to see how the Men in Blue will perform.