‘When I see Rohit, Virat’s wives…’: Ganguly’s special message to ‘Dravid’ ahead of T20 WC, uses 2003 finale example

It was 2013 when India last won an ICC trophy. It seems like an eternity since then and Indian fans have had to face multiple heartbreaks like last year when Rohit Sharma and Co. lost to Australia in the ODI World Cup final in Ahmedabad.

With the T20 World Cup set to begin on June 2, India will aim to break the curse and win the title. But they will be under immense pressure, as usual.

Speaking to RevSportz, former Indian captain and ex-BCCI chief Sourav Ganguly asked Indian players not to fall under pressure and play freely. Pointing to the expressions of Indian players’ wives, he said: “If I can say anything to Rahul (Dravid) and, make no mistake, he is a champion cricketer and a cricketing mastermind, it will be for me relax a little. Seeing Rohit’s wife in the stands, it’s obvious how much pressure she is under. When I see Virat’s wife, I see the kind of pressure she feels.

Taking India’s defeat in the 2003 World Cup final as an example, he added: “We in India make the mistake of overdoing it. I think back to the (World Cup) final. from 2003, for example, we must relax when playing big games. Just play with freedom.

India will open their campaign on June 5 when they take on Ireland in New York. Rohit and Yashasvi Jaiswal are expected to open for India, with Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav the other two specialist hitters. Meanwhile, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel are the all-rounders in the 15-member squad. However, Dube could be used as a specialty hitter and has barely played with the ball lately. Jadeja and Axar will also contribute to the spin duties, Hardik will add to the pace battery.

Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal are two specialist spinners. Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj form the pace department. Meanwhile, Shubman Gill, Rinku Singh, Khaleel Ahmed and Avesh Khan are the reserves.