It has been nearly a decade since the Indian team won any ICC tournament. The last time India sealed the ICC trophy was in the 2013 Champions Trophy under the leadership of MS Dhoni in England. However, they have come on the edge a few times as they lost in the finals of the 2014 T20 World Cup, they got outplayed by Pakistan in the 2017 Champions Trophy final, and then were the runners-up in the inaugural World Test Championship (WTC) final in 2019.
Their most terrible run was in the 2021 T20 World Cup in UAE, where they did not even make it to the final four. Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have faced severe criticism because they have not won any ICC trophies under their captaincy, despite that India’s ace spinner Ravichandran Ashwin backed them.
"It's easy to say you haven't won this and so on. After the 1983 World Cup, the great Sachin Tendulkar played the 1992, 1996, 1999, 2003, and 2007 World Cups. He finally won the World Cup in 2011. He had to wait for 6 World Cups to finally win one," Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.
The Indian all-rounder also spoke about MS Dhoni, who had won both the T20 World Cup and the ODI World Cup as the skipper of the Indian side.
"Just because another stalwart MS Dhoni came and won a World Cup as soon as he took charge, doesn't mean it'll happen to everyone, right?"
"These players (Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli), didn't play in 2007. Rohit Sharma missed out on the 2011 World Cup. Only Kohli played in 2011, 2015, 2019 and now he will play his fourth World Cup in 2023. 'He hasn't won an ICC tournament' they say. He has won it in 2011, he has won the 2013 Champions Trophy. Rohit Sharma has also won the 2013 Champions Trophy. So, we can give them space guys. They are playing bilaterals, IPL, and so many other matches. When it comes to ICC tournaments, you need those crucial moments to go your way," he said.
The Men in blue currently playing a T20I series against New Zealand where the Indian team lost the first match. The second match will be taking place at Lucknow on Sunday.