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Ravi Shastri believes India has all the firepower to successfully defend its T20 World Cup title starting February 7. India, the reigning champions, who ended a 13-year-long wait by beating South Africa in the final two years ago, head into the home World Cup as favourites. They haven’t lost a bilateral T20I series since 2023, and with captain Suryakumar Yadav hitting form right in the nick of time, India have all boxes ticked.
Shastri, the former India coach who did not win an ICC title despite coming close in the 2019 World Cup, feels the current crop of players are fiercely motivated, and the fact that most of them will be playing their first World Cup is what makes them all the more threatening. India has a couple of injury concerns, most notably Tilak Varmabut once he’s up and running, it will only add strength to this well-oiled Indian T20 unit.
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“There’s less baggage on a lot of players. They’re playing their first World Cup and it’s an opportunity for them to express themselves. And from the team that played the previous World Cup and won it in the West Indies, you’ve got tons of experience and brilliance. There’s Jasprit Bumrah, there’s Hardik Pandya, who I think is in terrific form at the moment and the ability for him to contribute with bat and ball. Shivam Dube has come along nicely,” Shastri said while speaking to the ICC.
“India will be hoping for Tilak Varma to be fit because he is a terrific player. And again, being a left-hander, the top of the order will make a difference. I think spin will play an integral part. And India has got enough ammunition in that spin department. There’s Chakaravarthy, there’s Axar Patel, there’s Kuldeep Yadav. When you look at variety, players at the right positions and balance, India can defend this title.”
Shastri’s concern
Having said that, Shastri ensured his concern was conveyed. Rahul Dravid and Shastri know disappointment better than most former Indian coaches. Seven years ago in Manchester, 10 minutes of bad batting cost India the World Cup semi-final against New Zealand. And four years later, at the 2023 World Cup final, the failure to score even a single boundary in almost 40 overs hurt them big time. In T20Is, the margin of error is even less, although Shastri remains confident this team is strong enough to pull itself out of a hole.
“When you’re defending your title and when you’re playing at home, there is pressure, and it comes from nowhere. You have a bad 15 minutes, a bad 10 minutes in a T20 game, it can decide the outcome of the game. And often, you lose those 10 minutes or 15 minutes because of pressure,” pointed out Shastri.
“So, it’s how India handles that pressure, the way they start the tournament. If they start well, even if there is a hiccup on the way, they have got depth in batting to pull them out of it.”
