The Indian cricket team’s elimination from the T20 World Cup 2022 has left many heartbroken. The Rohit Sharma-led Indian cricket team failed to defend the target of 169 runs, which England achieved in just 16 overs without losing any wickets, all thanks to the sensational performances of Jos Buttler and Alex Hales.
Team India has failed time and again to win the ICC tournaments for nearly a decade now. Team India previously lost the final of the 2014 T20 World Cup before losing the World Cup semifinals in 2015, 2016, 2019, and 2022. Besides this, team India lost the finals of the 2017 Champions Trophy and the World Test Championship in 2021.
Following India’s semi-final defeat against England, there were many who branded the Indian team ‘chokers’ for their repeated failures to win ICC titles. Former Indian captain Kapil Dev also admitted that the team can be branded ‘chokers’ for their failure to go the distance in the T20 World Cup in Australia.
Speaking in a show on ABP News, Kapil Dev said that this is not the time to be too harsh as these are the same players who have brought laurels to the country with their performances over the years. However, he also admitted that it isn’t much wrong in calling the team ‘chokers’. He said:
“See, now that the match is over, it is unfair that we should come down this hard on the Indian team. Yes, they did not play well and criticism is justified. But as far as today’s match, all we can say is that England read the pitch better and played better cricket. I will not dwell into the details and won’t go all out in bashing them because these are the same players who have gotten us a lot of respect in the past but yes, they are chokers. There is no denying it – after coming so close, they choke. I get it but I would still say that the team needs to look ahead. It’s time for the youngster players to come forward and take charge,”
Meanwhile, a number of Indian players underperformed in the T20 World Cup. The likes of Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Dinesh Karthik, Mohammed Shami, Rishabh Pant, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ravi Ashwin and Axar Patel, all these players were seen struggling with their performances as team India eventually got knocked out from the tournament in the semi-final stage once again.
