‘If we play as…’: Harbhajan Singh on Rohit Sharma-led Team India’s T20 World Cup title-winning chances | Cricket News

NEW DELHI: India are competing in another ICC tournament, the ICC T20 World Cup 2024, just six months after their last outing (ICC ODI World Cup 2023). Led by Rohit Sharma, Team India had a significant opportunity to claim an ICC title at home last year, a feat they have not achieved since 2013. However, they lost the title clash to Australia in Ahmedabad.India had progressed to the final after winning all their group matches and the semi-final but were defeated by six wickets in the final, with Australia securing their sixth ODI World Cup title.
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Now, India have entered the ICC T20 World Cup, being held in the USA and West Indies, once again as one of the favourites.
India began their campaign on a winning note, defeating Ireland by eight wickets at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York.
Their next assignment is a high-stakes match against arch-rivals Pakistan, taking place at the same venue where India won their opening match of the tournament.

Can Rohit Sharma lead India to an ICC title win this time around?
Former India spinner Harbhajan Singh believes that the Men in Blue need to play as a team and a ‘we mentality’ can propel them to a title victory.
“Rohit is not alone; it’s about ‘we’. If we play as a united team, thinking about collective success rather than individual achievements, then we can win. But if we only focus on personal goals, things become difficult. It’s all about the ‘we’ mentality, and that’s when things come to life,” Harbhajan, who is a cricket expert and commentator on Star Sports Press Room, told

TimesofIndia.com.

The 36-year-old Rohit Sharma is determined to secure an ICC trophy that has eluded India since their ICC Champions Trophy win in 2013.
India’s last T20 World Cup victory came in the inaugural edition in 2007, when Mahendra Singh Dhoni led the team to a five-run win over Pakistan in the final. This remains India’s only title in the tournament’s history.
Since their 2007 triumph, India have reached the final only once in eight editions, finishing as runners-up in the 2014 tournament in Bangladesh after losing to Sri Lanka by six wickets.

“Dhoni was a new captain and he needed that support from all of us. Before matches against teams like Australia, New Zealand, and England, our core group would get together during the game to strategise for the next few overs. For example, in a match against Australia, I bowled the crucial 17th or 18th overs because if we managed to give away only 4 runs, it saved us a lot,” Harbhajan said.
“Back then, batters didn’t score 25 runs in an over unlike today. The decision-making was always a team effort. When you play together as a united team, you win more competitions. Dhoni was a great listener, taking collective decisions that benefited the team. It was never about individual performances but about playing as ‘we’,” the former spinner told TimesofIndia.com.