Former India left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha believes that one of the reasons for India’s title-winning run in the 2011 ODI World Cup was then-captain MS Dhoni’s belief in developing a group of 25-30 players who are ready for big occasions at any time. India won the ODI World Cup for the first time in 28 years under Dhoni’s captaincy. They defeated Sri Lanka in the final at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium, with Dhoni leading the way with an unbeaten 91.
“I strongly believe that the 2011 World Cup was a success for us because MS Dhoni was very serious about all of the guys who were going to be in the mix, the 25 or 30, having to play at least 40 games before the World Cup started.” You may have scored a lot of runs, but if you don’t have experience dealing with different situations, you may not feel it during league matches, but the most important games, knockouts, semi-finals, and finals…. “That’s when your experience comes in handy,” Ojha said on FanCode.
The former spinner was speaking in the context of India’s constant reshuffling of their limited-overs sides, despite the fact that the T20 World Cup is less than two months away.
Advertisement
Advertisement
“Jab aapke paas itna bada pool rehte hai, toh uska disadvantage bhi agar aap dekhein, toh jabhi bhi aapko mauka milta hai…” It will be restricted. If aapka pool bada nahin hai, shayad aapko 10-12 mil sake hain, but when it comes to Indian cricket, aapko 10 nahin aapko shayad 5 matches milenge ya shayad 3 kyunki pool itna bada hai. The competition is now neck and neck. Players are performing, so you must bring your A game, and if you do not perform and another guy does, and some senior play returns, you will, unfortunately, miss out,” Ojha explained.
He cited Suryakumar Yadav and Deepak Hooda as examples of players who capitalized on their opportunities by smashing centuries against England and Ireland, respectively.
“That is correct. These players must recognize that they are playing for India and seize their opportunities. Take a look at what Suryakumar Yadav has accomplished… He’s getting hundreds of dollars. Deepak Hooda received a perfect score of 100. When you score hundreds of points in any format and at any level, people take notice. The level of competition in the Ranji Trophy has increased. People are talking about who has scored double-hundreds and triple-hundreds, not who has scored a hundred. When the competition is so high, you must raise your game and go higher as well “He stated.
Advertisement