The big event of the ICC ODI World Cup 2023 is slated to start from 5 October and Indian fans are very hopeful that team India will end its 10 yrs drought of the ICC trophy by winning the World Cup 2023. What makes Indian fans more hopeful is the fact that this time, the World Cup is being played in India and the Indian cricket team will have the home advantage.
Last time, the World Cup tournament was hosted by India in 2011 and that year India won the ODI World Cup under the leadership of MS Dhoni. Many times we get to hear that it was Dhoni who won the World Cup for India because he was the skipper of the Indian squad at that time but the legendary former South African cricketer AB de Villiers feels that it was not MS Dhoni who won the World Cup.
While speaking on his YouTube channel, AB de Villiers says that people should remember that cricket is a team game and no individual can win matches alone. He further adds that as cricket is a team game, no one player lifts the trophy but very often he gets to see things in a different manner on the social media platforms. ABD is of the opinion that it was not MS Dhoni who won the World Cup, it was team India that won the World Cup and it should not be forgotten, it should be remembered by everyone. He further said that in 2019, it was not English skipper Ben Stokes who lifted the trophy, it was team England.
However, hero-worshipping is pretty common in India as people tend to make just 1-2 players hero and efforts of the other players are not given due respect. Former Indian cricketer Gautam Gambhir has spoken in this regard many times but he usually gets trolled by fans of MS Dhoni.
AB de Villiers also talks about Mohammed Siraj with whom he has played while playing for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL. Siraj bowled pretty well during the Asia Cup, especially in the final match in which he took 6 wickets and helped his team in winning the Asia Cup.
ABD says that Mohammed Siraj is one of those bowlers who keep coming back and never give up. He further states that those bowlers are respected the most who compete on every ball and never give up and Mohammed Siraj is also one of them.
As of now, the third ODI of the 3-match series between India and Australia is being played at Rajkot and the Aussies have given a big target of 353 to the Indians. By the time this article was written, India was 88/1 in 14 overs with Virat Kohli (10 runs) and Washington Sundar (18 runs) on the crease.
India is already leading by 2-0 in the series and it will try its best to whitewash the series.