Anjum Chopra, when discussing the reoccurring failures in the knockout stages of the major ICC tournaments, identified two significant flaws. In recent years, neither the men’s nor women’s Indian cricket teams have won an ICC (International Cricket Council) trophy. Consistency has been a significant issue, as India’s results have never been favourable despite the presence of notable players. The men’s team lost the 2017 Champions Trophy final to Pakistan due to a subpar overall performance, while in the 2019 ODI World Cup semi-final against New Zealand, it was the batters who failed to perform. Since then, nothing has changed, as the best players frequently appear to blunder in decisive matches.
The same fate befell the women’s team as well, and in discussing this, former India international Anjum Chopra stated that one should not look at the failure all at once but rather analyse it individually. In order to obtain some major trophies in the near future, both teams will need to improve immediately, she added, as the trophy case is currently rather barren.
“I would prefer to see everything separately and not combined. We are discussing ICC tournaments, will not include everything, and are aware of how and when we fail. Ultimately, it comes down to scoring runs and capturing wickets. Whoever does it best ends up winning. “It makes little difference what colour jersey you wear,” Chopra stated.
The batting has been ineffective or we are unable to make the necessary breakthroughs. Anjum Chopra
She believes that Indian teams are unable to achieve breakthroughs during crucial game moments. In addition, the inconsistency of the Indian team’s batting has led to its failure in significant tournaments.
“Where are we, as a team, faltering? It’s been very consistent in Test matches that the batting hasn’t been able to make an impression or that we’re unable to make the necessary breakthroughs. This was evident in both the T20 World Cup and the WTC final. Therefore, each contest is unique. I do agree, however, that when we look back at the inventory of ICC tournaments, they are few and far between. In an interview with News18, Anjum Chopra stated, “Both the men’s and women’s teams need to get into the habit of winning ICC trophies as soon as possible.”
Notably, the men will play the Asia Cup in Sri Lanka, followed by the World Cup at home, while the women will compete in the 50-over World Cup in 2025.
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