The Indian team richly deserved its World Cup victory, according to the cricket legends, Imran Khan, Vivian Richards and Allan Border who have led their countries to mega event glory in the past.
Pakistan`s 1992 World Cup-winning Captain Imran Khan said that India’s success in the World Cup after 28 years is not just a matter of luck, as they have worked extremely hard during their World Cup campaign.
“It is not that India suddenly came up to win the World Cup. They have been on the rise in the last few years. India`s World Cup victory was a no fluke,” said Imran.
Imran said that India’s victory over traditional-rival Pakistan in the semi-final gave Men in Blue a huge boost which helped them to handle pressure in their crucial final clash against Sri Lanka.
Allan Border, who led Australia to 1987 World Cup triumph, agreed with Imran’s view that Indian’s win in the mega event was “no flash in the pan.”
“There is self confidence in the group. They are well-coached and they have a very intelligent captain. There is a blend of experience and youth,” said Border.
Border pointed out that the tough games against South Africa and Australia helped India to prepare themselves well for bigger contests in the final knockout stages.
Vivian Richards, who was in both the World Cup-winning squads of West Indies in 1975 and 1979, regarded India’s victory as an icing on the cake for master blaster Sachin Tendulkar, who represented India for the sixth time in the World Cups.
“It would be the icing on the cake for him as he has dedicated 21 years to cricket. I am proud of him,” said Richards.
Richards indicated that a World Cup victory is not just enough for team India as they have to work even harder in the future to live up to the expectation of their fans. The Caribbean legend said he admired Yuvraj Singh’s performance in the showpiece event
and endorsed Yuvraj’s choice as Man of the Tournament.
aadmin is a contributor at SportQA. We are committed to providing well-researched, accurate, and valuable content to our readers.