Former India opener Virender Sehwag is of the opinion that his country should strive to achieve the same level of success they had in 2011 at the Cricket World Cup and win the forthcoming tournament for Virat Kohli.
Winning the championship match versus Sri Lanka at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai in 2011 allowed India to claim the title of world champions on their own soil. Before the competition in 2011, it was generally assumed that it would be the great batter Sachin Tendulkar’s last World Cup, with the squad giving it their all in an effort to win the coveted trophy for the master in his sixth try. However, the Indian team was eliminated in the group stage of the tournament.
During the celebration that followed the team’s triumph at the Wankhede Stadium in 2011, Virat Kohli was a member of the team and he hoisted Sachin up onto his shoulders during the victory lap. Kohli has also effectively taken up the responsibility of heading India’s batting unit following Sachin’s departure, although he has not yet tasted triumph since Sachin’s retirement in 2011, as India has tasted loss in the semi-final stage in both 2015 and 2019.
Since the event would be held in India this time around, Sehwag is of the opinion that the Indian team should give it their all in order to win the World Cup for Kohli, just like they did for Sachin in 2011.
During his remarks at the occasion for the unveiling of the schedule for the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023, Sehwag remarked, “We played that World Cup for Tendulkar. It would have been a fitting conclusion for Sachin paaji had we been victorious in the World Cup. The same old Virat Kohli is still playing. Everyone will be rooting for him to take home the World Cup trophy. He consistently contributes more than one hundred percent.
I have a feeling that Virat Kohli is also keeping an eye on this World Cup. At the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, there will be 100,000 spectators watching you compete. Virat has a good understanding of how the pitches will play out. I have no doubt that he will score a lot of runs, and I am certain that he will give it his all to help India win the World Cup.
The match between India and Pakistan, which will take place at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on October 15th, is shaping up to be one of the most highly awaited matches of the tournament. Sehwag has singled out this match as the one he is looking forward to the most out of the whole competition.”Everyone is looking forward to the India-Pakistan game, and they can’t wait. “Then even I am,” was his response to that.
When Sehwag was asked to make a joke about who he thought would come out on top in the match, he responded by saying, “I’m not sure what will happen that day, but the team that handles pressure well will win.”
Sehwag went on to elaborate on the strain that the players were under during the match and why India had the upper hand by saying, “I feel that now India handles the pressure and that is why they win whereas Pakistan has a burden that they haven’t won against India.” They were quite adept at coping with pressure in the 1990s, but after the year 2000, India became much better at it. It would not be appropriate in my opinion for any athlete to claim that they do not feel any pressure. We used to say so too, but at the end of the day, we are aware that it is a match between India and Pakistan, and emotions are certain to run high.
Sehwag is also of the opinion that India and Pakistan will be two of the four sides to qualify for the semi-finals, the other two being England and Australia, who are the current tournament winners. When asked about his predictions for the semifinals, Sehwag said, “If I have to pick four teams, they would be Australia, England, India, and Pakistan.” These are the candidates for the semi-final round.