Team India will begin its 2023 World Cup campaign on October 8 when the side faces Australia in Chennai, and will meet England and Netherlands in two warm-up matches ahead of the tournament. Rohit Sharma’s men enjoyed impressive outings in the build-up to the marquee tournament, lifting the Asia Cup earlier this month before defeating the Aussies 2-1 in a three-match ODI series. Despite being in outstanding form, managing the pressure of a home World Cup presents unique challenges, and former India all-rounder Yuvraj Singh has shared insights into how the 2011 World Cup-winning team worked to alleviate pressure during their campaign.
(L) Yuvraj Singh with Sachin Tendulkar during the 2011 World Cup: (R) Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli batting together against Australia in 3rd ODI(File/PTI)
Yuvraj revealed that while the social media at the time (2011) wasn’t as prevalent as it is today, it did not prevent media and public scrutiny from becoming overwhelming for the Indian team, especially after a disappointing loss to South Africa. Sensing the team’s need to regain its focus, the legendary Sachin Tendulkar stepped in, calling for a crucial team meeting.
Now, distraction is a bit more because that time there was no social media. There was distraction with media and people. We were trying to focus on the game, and in the world cup, we had lost to South Africa – a game we should have won. The media started to go berserk. Sachin sat down with the team and said, ‘we need to stop watching television, stop reading the papers. Use our headphones when we are going through crowds in airports. Just focus on the world cup’. The team agreed, we just followed that and it really worked, Yuvraj recalled.
Because there’s anyway so much pressure. Problem with India is that, people think only Indian team will win. It’s a big World Cup, there are so many good teams out there, and we got to be really focussed on your tasks at hand.
Team India lands in Guwahati
The Indian team arrived in Guwahati on Thursday ahead of its warm-up match against England scheduled for September 30. Veteran spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, who was drafted into India’s 15-member World Cup squad earlier in the day to replace the injured Axar Patel, also joined the team in Guwahati.
Axar Patel had been grappling with a left quadriceps strain since the Asia Cup Super Four match against Bangladesh, and his injury prevented him from participating in the Asia Cup final and India’s subsequent three-match ODI series against Australia. Additionally, the return of KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer from their prolonged injuries was a major boost to the squad.