India failed to win 2019 WC because they didn’t have a World Cup-winning team, feels Aakash Chopra
Aakash Chopra wasn't convinced of the chances for India in the 2019 event
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Recollecting India’s semi-final exit against New Zealand in 2019 World Cup, Aakash Chopra has opined that India didn’t win the tournament because they didn’t have a World Cup-winning team. He also compared the 2011 World Cup team with 2019 one and opined that the 2011 team was better.
Two contrasting fortunes, two contrasting squads separated India in the 2011 World Cup event and the 2019 event in England. Whilst the 2011 squad, under the leadership of MS Dhoni, got their hands on the coveted trophy, their 2019 counterparts could only make their way to the semi-finals before crashing out against New Zealand.
Former Indian opener Aakash Chopra admitted that Virat Kohli’s men in the 2019 competition did not win because they did not have a World Cup-winning team. Talking about the 2019 squad, Chopra opined that it was a big mistake from Kohli’s part to not play Mohammed Shami in the semi-final. He also added that Shikhar Dhawan’s injury, too, cost India big time, with there being no real replacement for the left-hander in the squad.
“Should we get a slight perspective, if you have not won the World Cup in 2019, probably you didn’t have a World Cup-winning team only. Because the middle-order was so brittle, you didn’t have the team to win. You should have played Shami and you didn’t play him. You didn’t prepare the team and Shikhar Dhawan got injured as well,” Aakash Chopra said on his Youtube channel ‘Aakash Vani’, reported Hindustan Times.
Whilst he criticised the Indian skipper and the management for not preparing well in terms of planning for the tournament, with the team having a brittle middle-order, Chopra stated that the 2011 team had match-winners. In the 2011 competition, India finished ahead of Sri Lanka as the winners of the tournament, on the back of a wonderful partnership between Gautam Gambhir and MS Dhoni in the final as they chased down 277 with six wickets remaining.
“So if you see the full comparison, MSD’s team of 2011 has won. That is why, if there is a match Dhoni’s team is stronger and a match-winning team. So if you consider everything, 2011 team was lot ahead of this team that played in 2019. Therefore the trophy is with the 2011 team and not the 2019 team,” he signed off.
