Virat Kohli and Axar Patel (AP Photo)
When Lalchand Rajput took charge as manager of a youthful Indian squad for the first-ever T20 World Cup in 2007, he ventured into uncharted waters. Despite being written off by critics, the team emerged victorious.
Almost 18 years on, the 63-year-old former cricketer expresses confidence that the current Indian side, packed with accomplished performers, will not only secure another significant ICC trophy but will do it in a commanding fashion.
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"This Indian team looks ruthless. They try to dominate and win every game. They don't want to give the opponents a chance to come back into the game. That is the attitude; and the way they are playing, I think they should win the Champions Trophy convincingly," Rajput told PTI.
As the current head coach of the UAE
cricket
team, Rajput witnessed Virat Kohli achieve his 51st ODI century during the six-wicket victory against Pakistan in Dubai on Sunday. He now anticipates that captain Rohit Sharma will play a big knock in the upcoming matches.
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"So, Virat got a hundred. All boxes are ticked. Now it's only up to Rohit to get a big hundred," Rajput said.
"I think Virat played a fantastic innings, you know, and he showed his class. We always think of King Kohli, I think he proved again. Big match, big-match temperament, big-match player."
The seasoned mentor also issued a cautionary note to the squad, which secured straightforward wins against Pakistan and Bangladesh, with their final group -stage encounter against New Zealand scheduled for Sunday.
"See, in cricket, you cannot take it lightly. Every game is important, because if you take one or few overs lightly, that can change the game as well. So we have got to be at our best every time. We don't want to relax at any moment," he remarked.
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"Both the games India have won comfortably. But in cricket, we can't say anything. We have to take one game at a time. We don't have to take New Zealand lightly. New Zealand is a better team (than Pakistan and Bangladesh); they have also won both the games and their morale is also high."
Given the squad's excellent performance, he prefers maintaning the same lineup for the next fixture, which holds little significance as both teams have secured their semi-final spots.
"I don't think they will try anything (new) because when the team is doing well, you go with the same momentum. Unless there is some injury, or somebody wants to be rested, but I don't think there will be any change. It's up to the management because there are few days in between. But I would always say that you always continue with the winning team," Rajput said.
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