"You Cannot Blame...": Ravi Shastri Dismisses 'Chokers' Tag On Team India

The Indian cricket team were completely outplayed by Australia in the World Test Championship (WTC) 2023 Final and as a result, their ICC trophy drought got even bigger. In the recent past, several experts have pointed out that India were unable to win major tournament finals and even went on to put the ‘choker' tag on them. Former India head coach Ravi Shastri was asked about the tag and he had a clear answer to all the critics. In a recent interaction, Shastri pointed out that India have achieved massive feats over the years and blame cannot be put on any individual.

“I would not say that. I mean, these two teams that were playing [India and Australia] were the only two teams that had a chance to win all three World Cups. And it is not that we have been rolled over [at World Cups]. We have been in semi-finals, we have been in finals. We have not got it because when you want to win the big one, you need a combined effort. You cannot blame one individual, one captain,” Shastri said in the interview with The Week.

Shastri added that India lost in the WTC Final as none of their batters played a big innings.

“You need 100s in a World Cup, World Test Championship final. Then you have a good chance of setting it up for the bowlers and winning the trophy. If you do not get a 100, you need at least three 50s, whether it is Test, T20 or one-day cricket. If you have not done that, you do not deserve to win.”