Credit: ACC
Former India all rounder, Irfan Pathan made a really big statement on India's T20 World Cup triumph. He said, "If Surya would have dropped that catch, the World Cup would have been dropped as well."
In the third episode of ‘Rise of Champions’, former India cricketer Aakash Chopra raised his doubts over India’s team selection for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024: “There were definitely discussions around that squad, particularly about why so many spinners were picked. It seemed like a slightly flawed strategy. I was one of those who felt something was wrong. It wasn’t aligning with what we thought we were going to do.” Former Australian cricketer Tom Moody spoke about the depth of Indian cricket in the third episode of ‘Rise of Champions’: “One of the issues with Indian cricket is that there is too much talent. There are simply too many options. It’s a wonderful problem to have, but it becomes a nightmare for a selector or a captain.”
Former New Zealand player Danny Morrison felt the dropped pitch in New York for the Pakistan clash would have gone against India: "Playing on that pitch was dangerous in a way. The ball was flying around and it could have gone badly for India, it was a gamble."
Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan reflected on Rishabh Pant’s lone effort against Pakistan: “Rishabh Pant scored around 40 runs at a strike rate of 135. If you compare that with the other seven batters, none of them had a strike rate of 100. There was a need for someone to take a little more risk and play more fearlessly.”
England’s World Cup-winning captain Eoin Morgan elaborated on India’s bowling strengths in the final episode of ‘Rise of Champions’: “In white-ball cricket, bowling attacks win you tournaments. When you can defend low scores, it creates a belief within the team that you can win a game from anywhere. That belief becomes a big threat for any team in a World Cup.” Speaking about the Super 8 clash against Australia, former India Captain Rohit Sharma said: “They ruined our 19th of November, 2023, so we felt we should give them back in equal measure.”
On Rohit Sharma’s knock and India’s win against Australia, Aakash Chopra said: “Rohit Sharma had sworn that we are going to play a different brand of cricket which is going to be more aggressive. Now that we have beaten Australia, there's no tension. We can actually win the trophy, irrespective of who the opposition is. But the wounds of 2023 kept reminding us not to take anything lightly.”
England’s World Cup-winning Captain Eoin Morgan spoke about India’s aggressive template under Rohit Sharma: “From an Indian point of view, the template they created leading into that game was easy to replicate because they were confident. They had trust in exactly what they were trying to do.” Reflecting on Virat Kohli’s knock in the 2024 ICC T20 World Cup final against South Africa, Rohit Sharma said: “The experience of playing for India for so many years really helps in moments like that. I’m sure he was thinking the same—that this was the day he needed to stay focused.”
On Axar Patel’s expensive over in the Final, Rohit Sharma said: “I had to protect the other end so someone had to take up the mantle of bowling from the challenging side and that had to be Axar.” On Hardik Pandya’s delivery dismissing Heinrich Klassen the next over, Rohit Sharma said: “It was the ideal T20 ball. You know why, because it pitched in the right area and wider line. So it was difficult to hit for a four or six. After that we got a lot of dot balls and we squeezed in.”
Reflecting on the current India T20 captain, Suryakumar Yadav's catch in the final in the third episode of ‘Rise of Champions’, Irfan Pathan said: “A knee-high full toss to a batter like David Miller—more often than not—that’s a six. But Suryakumar Yadav’s presence of mind was exceptional. It wasn’t just a catch; it was the World Cup. The World Cup was in his hands. If he had dropped it, the World Cup would have been dropped as well.”
