The culmination of the Cricket World Cup 2023 witnessed a disappointing outcome for the Indian cricket team as former Indian team opener Gautam Gambhir expressed his discontent with the Indian batters’ approach during the final against Australia at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. Despite a commanding start, India’s innings concluded at 240 all out, setting a target that was comfortably chased down by Australia, thanks to a remarkable innings by Travis Head, handing the Australians their sixth World Cup triumph.
Gautambir, known for his frank opinions, highlighted the significance of courage in high-stakes matches such as World Cup finals. In his analysis, he stated, “I have always maintained this – the most courageous team will go on to win the World Cup. I can understand that for some time you want to build a partnership. But 11-40 overs is a very long period of time. India should have accelerated and taken a risk at that stage,” while speaking to Sportskeeda.
His views underscore a pattern that he believes has prevented India from securing recent ICC tournament victories. Gambhir suggested a bold strategy where teams should be willing to risk an all-out attack, potentially scoring a lesser total, but with a more aggressive mindset. “I actually would have liked India going really aggressive with the top six, seven batters. Even if they got all out for 150, I would have been fine. But you scored 240 and thought you can fight. In World Cup finals, you don’t fight – it has to be either this way or that way. That is the approach I would have taken. Either we go 150 all out or 300,” he remarked, indicating his preference for a high-risk, high-reward style of play.
Although Rohit Sharma’s brisk 47 runs provided a solid platform, Gambhir believed the overall pace of India’s innings was too slow—with Virat Kohli and KL Rahul notching up half-centuries—to pose a serious threat to Australia’s chase.
Further emphasizing an aggressive approach, Gambhir speculated on the Indian team’s pre-match mindset, saying, “Probably Rohit should have sent that message before the start of the game that even if I get out, we are going aggressive. Virat’s role is to anchor the innings from one end, but rest all the other batters go hard. If you are able to take five singles in an over, that is also called positive cricket. But, if you are playing 4-5 dot balls in an over, the game is going nowhere.”
Gambhir also pointed out the opportunities for Rahul to step up the attack while Kohli was set, advocating for taking calculated risks, indicative of a bold game plan. He expressed a scenario that would have seen India either collapsing for a modest score or setting a formidable target as a testament to their bravery, which ultimately could have been the determining factor in a World Cup win. “If Virat was in, KL should have gone. He should have said that, I am going to take those risks. We might have got out for 150, but imagine if we were brave and had scored 310, you could have won the World Cup,” he said, underscoring the missed opportunity and lack of assertiveness that, in his view, led to India’s defeat in the final.
Matching words with emotion, the intense critique by the former opener doesn’t just reflect on India’s strategy in the final but is also symbolic of the high expectations and the passionate sentiments that cricket evokes in the country.
As the World Cup 2023 closes and preparations for future ICC tournaments begin, India’s cricket strategists and players will likely reflect on Gambhir’s candid remarks about courage, aggression, and strategic batting approaches. Will India take these comments as constructive criticism and turn it into an actionable game plan for the championships ahead? Only time and the cricketing arenas will tell.