T20 WC: Very Happy With India’s Progress, Hopes Are Really Very High To Retain The Title, Says Mhambrey

T20 WC: Very happy with India’s progress, hopes are really very high to retain the title, says Mhamb (Image Source: IANS)

T20 World Cup: Having lifted the Men’s T20 World Cup trophy for the first time in 2007, before breaking a long drought to clinch the crown in 2024, defending champions India are aiming to become the first team to achieve three milestones: retain the crown, win it three times, and clinch a World Cup in the shortest format on home soil.

The co-hosts enter the tournament as the top-ranked side and boast of the number one ranked batter and bowler in Abhishek Sharma and Varun Chakaravarthy, respectively. With their ultra-attacking batting template and pinpoint precision with the ball, India have the best win percentage among the top 10 T20I teams since winning the 2024 edition.

Paras Mhambrey, India’s former bowling coach, was a part of the setup during the 2024 triumph under Rohit Sharma and believes the side has the depth and leadership to retain the title. Before India launches its title defence against the USA at the Wankhede Stadium on Saturday, Mhambrey spoke exclusively to IANS on the side’s chances of retaining the title, Suryakumar Yadav's captaincy, the influential factors in play when featuring in a mega event at home and more. Excerpts:-

Q. We are just a day away from the 2026 T20 World Cup commencing, this time on home soil. How do you analyse India's chances of retaining the trophy won in 2024?

A. I'm very happy and sure of it. In the way I've seen in the last few years, the way the team has progressed, the kind of cricket they're playing – that's fabulous. Just to see the last series that we played and even the last game that we played, the warm-up game against South Africa – it's fabulous to watch, just the way everyone's going about it.

Happy to know and see that the core is still there from the last two years. It's so important to actually have that core playing the World Cup. One is the experience bit – there's so much experience out here and just the skill sets that are available to us. When you're entering a big tournament like this, you want all your top players to be available.

It's good to see that Tilak (Varma) is back in the team, getting an opportunity and playing a fabulous innings out there. Overall, we are very happy with the way things have progressed for us. Now, it's one day at a time. But just the way the Indian team is playing, I think hopes really are very high.

Q. Take us back to June 2024 – what are the moments from that victorious 2024 World Cup campaign that give you goosebumps to date?

A. It's the tag of world champions. I think any team that plays cricket and any individual that represents the country – I think the tag of being a world champion is always special. That's something that will stay with that individual and the team. I'm no different from anyone else out here. As a player, I know the value and the importance of representing your country, and especially the World Cup is so special because it comes every four years.

We didn't have the T20 tournament, and we always kind of looked at the 50-over tournament, and the World Cup was special. So, getting an opportunity out there, and then again, just shifting it from one side of the rope to the other and getting an opportunity to be part of that dressing room – it's something that, as a player, I always wanted to be and experience the whole journey, if I can say that.

It's so special because it takes a lot. The tenure of the tournament is a week or so, 15 days. But there are a couple of years of real, real hard work that went into it, and when you see that finally bear fruit, I can't explain that. I think the tag of being world champions is special.

Q. That 2024 World Cup-winning squad had a special chemistry. How much of that has carried forward into this 2026 team, in your opinion?

A. It is the case – you can see it on the ground. Everyone is so professional in terms of being very clear about their roles. Good to see that each and every individual has delivered at some point or other. It was so important to go into the tournament and not only deliver - I thought they won the game for the team, and that's so important. You are ticking the right boxes out here, and everyone is fit.

So good to see that they are coming and you have the best 15 available to choose from, and it's so important. The core is always important because that's where your experience lies. You have been through that situation, and they have experienced that. To a certain extent, they are a little better prepared to deal with the tournament because some of the individuals have not played and not experienced this.

They played the bilaterals and other series, but especially the World Cup is different. I am sure by the time the first game comes – and much before it, right now – I think everyone will get the hang and feel of what the World Cup is, especially when it's a domestic one.

Wherever you go, they will be reminded. There will be hoardings out there and billboards around. People in the lift, the watchmen also saying, 'Jeetna hai, jeetna hai' (You have to win, you have to win). So they will feel how important it is not only for the players but for the whole country around.

Q. Suryakumar Yadav is leading this Indian side while also being one of the most destructive batters in world cricket and discovering form at the right time. How do you see him balancing those dual responsibilities in this mega event?

A. He is doing it wonderfully. I thought he had settled down well. He is very well settled in his role right now. Whatever you say, that shift is a little different even though you don't want to think about it and feel it may not affect you. But it's always going to be at the back of your mind that you are captain, and that adds a little bit of responsibility on your shoulders – not only for the others but also for yourself.

Your expectations also are high up there because you want to deliver, and then you are playing a dual role, right? You are also focusing on, importantly, your game. So it's difficult now. He has to find the balance, and I am very happy with the way he is shaped up because it's very difficult to find the balance between yourself and the team.

Now he has to look after all the 10 other players on the ground, not only himself. So it takes a little while, but I'm happy with the way he is shaped up as a captain – just the way others have warmed up to it and just that you can see on the ground, for sure.

Q. Playing a World Cup at home comes with its own pressures and advantages. What do you think will be the biggest factor – the crowd support, familiarity with conditions or just the form they are in?

A. All three – you touched the right points. You can't beat the home crowd. You have that when you go in and know that everyone is going to be rooting for you. When chips are down, you still have people supporting you. It's so important sometimes. As an opponent, you are not in a game, and you don't really realise that you are on top of the game right now because of so much support that you have.

So that's incomparable anyway, but conditions, definitely, because you play on these wickets, you know exactly how the wickets behave – like the red soil and black soil – because you played out there, and just generally from your past, you can draw from your past experiences and then work on your game.

The most important bit is the form. I thought it was important to have everyone contributing, and it's good to see that not only did everyone contribute, but at some point, they all won games. Maybe on an individual basis – like a spell, a knock, or a few balls – it's so important to do that. In all three aspects, I think you are really up there, and I am happy because all three bases are covered for us.

Q. Without asking for predictions, which team do you think poses the biggest tactical challenge for India in this tournament?

A. Oh, that's a mystery question you asked me. You got me thinking about it. It's just... I feel in a tournament like this, from past experiences, I can tell you that whenever you go with the favourites, I think people have got it wrong. If you look at the way, just look at the way the last game was; the last World Cup final was against South Africa.

It's just one scenario – they were favourites to win at one time. We went in; that didn't work, and it's just the way the game went, and everyone thought, 'This is going to be South Africa.' 'You have someone like... you don't take away from Sri Lanka in these games.

If you look at the last few games that they've played, they've been playing decent cricket, and with their home conditions, you're going to play some games there, similar to out here, because a lot of these guys play in the IPL – the bowling bit. So they would be competitive, and maybe a couple of teams like this. But as I said, you really can't go in with the favourite side, as sometimes you've got it wrong.

It's just one scenario – they were favourites to win at one time. We went in; that didn't work, and it's just the way the game went, and everyone thought, 'This is going to be South Africa.' 'You have someone like... you don't take away from Sri Lanka in these games.

A. I'll put my neck out here and say supremely confident. It's just the way they're playing and what kind of cricket they're playing – it gives you a lot of confidence. Availability of players is, again, a big factor for me. Variety is available as spinners and seamers – a big factor that's been touched. We covered all our bases as well as we could, and I'm supremely confident in just the way they have played in the past – so, fingers crossed.

Article Source: IANS