"Play fearlessly": Sehwag to Team India ahead of WC semis clash against NZ
Nov 14, 2023
Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], November 14 : Ahead of India's ICC Cricket World Cup semifinal match against New Zealand, former Indian opener Virender Sehwag advised the Men in Blue to play fearlessly without worrying about the result.
"Play fearlessly and give your best. Do not worry about the result. If 11 players give their best, they will win," said Sehwag to the media at the ICC Hall of Fame event in Mumbai, where he was also inducted into the Hall of Fame.
India will take on New Zealand in the first semifinal of the ICC Cricket World Cup at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai on Wednesday. While Kiwis will be aiming to reach their third successive World Cup final after 2015 and 2019, India will be looking forward to overcoming the knockout hurdle that has not let them win a major ICC title since 2013 and that too against a team that has given them the most trouble in must-win matches.
While the former opener felt that one cannot rely on luck all the time, a bit of it is needed in knockout matches.
"You have to play well. You cannot depend on luck all the time. But in knockouts, you need a bit of luck. Against Pakistan in 2011, we defended 260 because we had luck and the bowlers also bowled well. India is playing great cricket, but it would be better if we get a bit of luck too," said Sehwag.
Sehwag lauded skipper Rohit Sharma for his blistering form in the World Cup, which has seen him attacking the bowlers right from the start and setting a foundation for other batters to come, take their time and dominate the match.
"He has been doing it for a long time (playing aggressively). Now that he is a captain, he is taking a lot of responsibility to score runs and give India fine starts. The way he is taking care of Shubman Gill is also amazing," said Sehwag.
On the future of ODI cricket and whether the overs in a game need to be reduced, the opener said, "Absolutely not. If one wants to play shorter formats, he can play T20s."
India squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ishan Kishan, Prasidh Krishna, Suryakumar Yadav.
New Zealand squad: Kane Williamson (c), Trent Boult, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Lockie Ferguson, Kyle Jamieson, Tom Latham, Daryl Mitchell, Jimmy Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Mitch Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Will Young.
