'MS Dhoni did not win the World Cup': AB de Villiers comes in support of Gambhir's verdict

With the ICC ODI World Cup 2023 only a few days away, Team India will be hoping to repeat their 2011 performance. MS Dhoni led India to their second ODI World Cup victory in 2011. The hard-fought struggle marked India's first ODI World Cup victory since 1983. This is one of the main reasons why MS Dhoni is considered the most successful captain of the Indian team. He was the final captain to lift the ICC trophy, as India looks to end their drought of not winning an ICC trophy for 10 years. 

3 things you need to know 

• India’s last ICC trophy was the Champions Trophy in 2013
• MS Dhoni retired from international cricket in  2019
• Rohit Sharma recently led India to win the Asia Cup 2023

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AB de Villiers supports Gautam Gambhir's claim on team-game

AB de Villiers, a former South African cricketing hero, has stressed the necessity of a strong and united team when competing for the Cricket World Cup 2023 title, rather than relying exclusively on an amazing captain or talented individuals. De Villiers went on to elaborate that the 2011 and 2019 honors were not only MS Dhoni's or Ben Stokes' personal victories but rather the results of the combined efforts of the Indian and English cricket teams. The Proteas maestro also spoke out against the common practice in cricket fandom of placing too much emphasis on individuals' achievements at the expense of the team. Speaking on his YouTube channel, he said: 

Cricket is a team game, it's not a player lifting the World Cup. I see that way too often on social platforms. MS Dhoni did not win the World Cup, India won the World Cup, so keep that in mind. Don't forget that. Ben Stokes did not lift the trophy in Lord's back in 2019, it was team England,

Former Indian cricketer, Gautam Gambhir, who was part of the squad of India's 2011 World Cup-winning team made a similar comment on cricket being a team sport. He emphasized that many players played a key role in India winning the trophy and it was not based on anyone's individuality. 

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AB de Villiers appreciated Mohammed Siraj

AB de Villians praised Mohammed Siraj who recently picked 6 wickets against Sri Lanka in Asia Cup final. ABD, who was Mohammed Siraj's teammate at RCB talked about his never-dying attitude. He said;

I think what stands out with him is his attitude, and we've spoken about this before on this series. Your attitude can really uplift you if you never give up. And if you keep trying and you make your attitude, catch you with your teammates, the people want you there. The fans want you there, and that's where you start doing some brilliant things and special things on the park. And Mohammad Siraj is one of those players.

He always just keeps coming back. He's always in your face and I've mentioned this before. The bowlers who are respected the most are the guys that never gave up. They would always compete for every single ball, be in your face. And that's what Siraj does.