Team India is gearing up for a fresh beginning in 2024. Their focus turns to the second Test against South Africa, as they aim to turn the tide and set the stage for a better performance after getting hammered in the first Test. Kris Srikkanth, the former Indian player has a bold remark on Team India on their performance.
Rohit Sharma’s team suffered a significant setback in the first match, facing a decisive defeat by an innings and 32 runs in Centurion. Now, they’re eager to secure a victory to level the series.
Despite being the top-ranked Test team with an impressive rating of 118, India has struggled to live up to expectations, especially with back-to-back losses in the World Test Championship finals. Krishnamachari Srikkanth, the former Indian cricketer, shares his discontent with India’s recent Test performances, labeling them as an ‘overrated team.’ Reflecting on Virat Kohli’s captaincy era, he reminisces about the substantial success India enjoyed on overseas tours.
“Test cricket, we are overrated. I think it was a phase of 2-3 years where we were outstanding when Virat Kohli was the captain of the team. We dominated in England, we fought hard in South Africa, we won in Australia. We have to forget the ICC rankings. We are always 1-2, 1-2. It’s a combination of having overrated cricketers and people who have not performed up to their potential. Or there are players who do not have enough chances, like Kuldeep (Yadav),” said Srikkanth on his YouTube channel.
Kris Srikkanth reiterated similar sentiments about the Indian T20I squad. Nevertheless, he lauded the ODI team, referring to them as a formidable side.
“In T20 cricket India are highly overrated. ODI cricket, we are a fantastic team. What happens in ODIs, in the semi-finals, finals, it’s just a one-off match. It’s a luck factor, a lot depends on luck in these matches. I read Rohit Sharma’s statement, for a cricketer; the 50-over World Cup is a huge achievement. We are sometimes underperforming in the knockout matches, in the semifinals and the final. But we are a gun side in ODIs. Regardless of where we play, be it India, Australia or South Africa, we are a gun side,” Kris Srikkanth further said.
India has had a dry period at big ICC events since 2014, despite making it to the knockout stages nine out of the past 10 times. The pattern continued in 2023, with the squad losing their second consecutive WTC final, first to New Zealand in 2021 and then to Australia. Adding to the misery, the Men in Blue couldn’t claim the ODI World Cup on home ground, falling to Australia by six wickets.
Even in the T20Is, India hasn’t experienced World Cup glory since 2008, despite owning the lucrative IPL. With the future T20 World Cup in 2024 planned between the West Indies and the USA, there’s a tangible feeling of desire to break this knockout curse.
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