Team India is aiming to end an 11-year ICC title drought on Saturday when they face South Africa in the final of the T20 World Cup. Led by Rohit Sharma, the team delivered a strong performance in the semi-final, defeating defending champions England by 68 runs to secure a title clash with the Proteas; both teams reached the final unbeaten.
Under Rohit Sharma’s captaincy, India has reached three finals in ICC tournaments. However, they suffered defeats to Australia in both the World Test Championship and the ODI World Cup in 2023. In his first tournament as India’s captain at the 2022 T20 World Cup, India lost to England in the semifinals. With the upcoming final in Barbados potentially being Rohit’s last chance to lead India to an ICC title in this format, former India skipper Sourav Ganguly says the 36-year-old will be desperate to end the wait.
“I don’t think he can lose two World Cup finals in seven (six) months. He will probably jump into the Barbados ocean if he loses two finals under his captaincy in seven months,” Ganguly told PTI.
“He has led from the front, batted brilliantly, and I hope it continues tomorrow. Hope India finishes on the right side, and they should play with freedom. They have been the best side of the competition. I wish them luck, I wish they win. Hope they have a little bit of luck tomorrow because that is required to win big tournaments,” Ganguly added.
Rohit is a five-time IPL champion as Mumbai Indians’ captain, a position he held till the 2023 edition of the tournament, and Ganguly says that the length of the premier T20 league makes it tougher to win than ICC tournaments like the T20 World Cup.
“Rohit has the record of winning five IPL titles, which is a huge achievement. Winning an IPL sometimes is more difficult. Don’t misquote me, I’m not saying IPL is better than international cricket,” said Ganguly.
“But you have to win 16-17 (12-13) matches to win an IPL; here you need to win 8-9 matches to win a World Cup. The honour is more in winning the World Cup, and I hope Rohit does it tomorrow,” he concluded.