Team India Cannot Be Termed As A ‘Choker’: Salman Butt
As the most awaiting ICC-T20 World Cup is just 3-months away, as a result, many supporters, analysts, and critics are excited about the mega event. Considering the top teams participating in the global events, Team India’s name will be cemented at the top 4 as per their performances in the previous ICC events. Though Men in Blue’s achievements are appreciated by everyone, their performances are extremely relevant in the Global event’s kick-off.
The most recent defeat occurred on June 23, when India lost to New Zealand in the ICC- WTC Final. That was Virat Kohli’s team having 3rd defeat, with the other two listed in the Championship Trophy (2017) and the Cricket World Cup (2019). Under MS Dhoni’s captaincy, India had previously lost the 2014-T20 World Cup final and the 2015-ODI World Cup semifinals.
Whereas the supporters have begun to label India as the “new choker,” retired Salman Butt thinks it’s too soon to predict India and support his Team. The name ‘chokers’ is applied to South Africa as their re-admission to cricket, they have always struggled to meet the conclusion of the ICC event since-1992.
Team India Were In The World’s Top Teams: Salman Butt
Butt believes that India cannot be described as a ‘Choker’ because Dhoni has led India to three ICC titles. The 36-year-old also addressed New Zealand’s failure to win an ICC competition before winning the World Test Championship (WTC) in 2021.
“India doesn’t have a long history of not winning an ICC event. Under previous captain MS Dhoni, India won the Champions Trophy (2013), the World T20 (2007), and the 50-over World Cup (2011). Recently, India played the World Test Championship (WTC) final and the 2019 World Cup semi-final”.
“They have been almost there among the world’s Top 2 teams. So, the frequency of India’s losses is not that much to term them as chokers,” Salman Butt said in his YouTube video.
“Look at the number of semi-finals, New Zealand has played in the World Cup. They have played two finals as well (2015 and 2019). Nobody called them chokers. South Africa was termed chokers because they frequently lost big matches. They went down in a lot of finals and crunch games. That isn’t the case with India as yet,” he added.
