Exactly a week after losing a lopsided match to archrivals Pakistan, India suffered a big setback on Sunday as they were brutally defeated by an outstanding New Zealand side in an ICC T20 World Cup 2021 match. After a 6-day break, Virat Kohli's Team India failed to bring their A-game and were crushed by the Black Caps by an eight-wicket margin. Following the loss, many former cricketers criticised Virat Kohli's captaincy in the major tournament.
After an 8-wicket loss to New Zealand on Sunday, former India cricketer Gautam Gambhir reckoned Virat Kohli's team lacks the mental strength to win knockout games in ICC events.
Gambhir believes this is why they have lost knockout games in key tournaments in the last two years.
"Yes, talent is one thing; you have all the skills and perform exceptionally well in bilaterals and other things. However, when it comes to these kinds of matches and tournaments, you
must stand up and perform."
"They are skilled and a highly dangerous side. But, sadly, we can keep talking about how we need to support our team when they aren't performing well, but it's been a trend
for a long time in most of these ICC events, whether it's the semifinals or the game today. When it was most important for someone to raise their hand, they simply couldn't," said Gambhir.
Sunil Gavaskar, the legendary Indian batsman, has criticised India's decision to demote skipper Virat Kohli and vice-captain Rohit Sharma in the batting order for Sunday's high-profile
match against New Zealand.
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Rohit Sharma, unquestionably one of the best modern-day openers, did not open India's innings against New Zealand in the ICC T20 World Cup. Rohit Sharma batted at number three, while
Kohli, who typically bats at number three, batted at number four.
Gavaskar commented on the demotion of India's captain and vice-captain and the promotion of rookie Ishan Kishan to the top order.
"I'm not sure if it's a fear of failure, but whatever changes they made to the batting order today didn't work. Rohit Sharma is a fantastic batter who has been put at No.
3. Kohli, who has made so many runs at No.3, is demoted to No.4. A young player like Ishan Kishan has been tasked with starting the batting" said Gavaskar.
Gavaskar went on to say that Ishan Kishan was a hit-or-miss player who shouldn't have opened the inning for India.
Former India all-rounder Madan Lal was also dissatisfied with the performance of Indian hitters, who scored only 110 runs when batting first.
He stated that the decision to demote Rohit Sharma was extremely incorrect. However, Lal believes that with the presence of mentor MS Dhoni and coach Ravi Shastri, it may not have been totally the captain's call.