Team India will look to end an almost 10-year wait for an ICC trophy when they face Australia in the World Test Championship final later this month. The team last won the Champions Trophy in 2013 under Mahendra Singh Dhoni; since then, India has had twin captaincy changes, with Virat Kohli succeeding Dhoni and Rohit Sharma succeeding the star batter.
The team came the closest to winning an ICC title in 2014 and 2017, when they reached the finals of the T20 World Cup and the Champions Trophy, respectively. However, in the shortest format, Sri Lanka cruised past Dhoni’s Indian team, while Pakistan won the Champions Trophy with a dominant win over Kohli’s Indian team. In 2021, India reached the World Test Championship final but was defeated by New Zealand, led by Kane Williamson.
Former India head coach Ravi Shastri, who was in charge during the WTC loss two years ago, believes the team has the potential to end the ICC title drought, and he also believes there are no clear favourites in a one-off Test – a reference to the upcoming WTC Final.
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“You have to compete. Sometimes, you need a little bit of luck going your way as well. I won’t say we didn’t play good cricket. We have played very good cricket. The rub of green hasnt’ quite gone their way. I always say, this team is good enough to win an ICC trophy. When I was there, I used to say the same thing… especially in last 3-4 years, I thought the team was good enough to win an ICC tropy. Those players are still there,” Shastri said.
“Everyone’s saying Australia are clear favourites because we are playing in England. But it’s a one-off Test, just one bad day can ruin your chances. Australia also need to be very careful,” the former head coach further added.