File photo of Indian cricket team skipper Rohit Sharma© AFP
The Indian cricket team last won the ICC World Cup title back in the 2011 under the leadership of MS Dhoni and incidentally, they were also the hosts of that year’s competition. It was a particularly good tournament for Asian teams as Pakistan reached the semi-finals and Sri Lanka finished as runners-up. With the 2023 edition of the tournament returning to India, the Rohit Sharma-led side is being as one of the front-runners but former India head coach Greg Chappell, who had a tumultuous time at the helm of the side, believes that the cricket fans need to be cautiously optimistic. In a recent interview, Chappell pointed out that home advantage will be a massive boost for India but winning the competition will not be easy due to the change dynamics in world cricket.
“Home advantage makes a huge difference, and I am very sure India will start favourites on home soil. When I was coach of India, one thing I observed was that the Indians are very comfortable in dealing with any challenges thrown at them by any opposition at home. It was evident to me sitting inside the Indian change room and looking out. It has not changed, and this Indian team under Rohit [Sharma] and Rahul [Dravid] is a very good one. I think they have a good chance in home conditions,” he said on Revsportz.
“Having said that, winning these tournaments is never easy. So I would urge caution if you are an Indian fan. Be cautiously optimistic. While India will have a very good chance, if things don’t go your way, you should not be heartbroken for it can happen in sport,” the former India head coach added.
The former Australia cricketer was also quick to say that teams like England and Australia have players who have played a lot of IPL cricket and that can come in handy when it comes to adapting to the conditions.
“Some of the other teams like Australia and England are very good teams, and with the IPL, the aura of the conditions have been somewhat demystified over time,” Chappell concluded.
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