T20 World Cup 2021: "The attitude of the Indian players has got to be the silver lining for the team" - Deep Dasgupta 

Former India wicket-keeper Deep Dasgupta believes India can take a few positives from the 2021 T20 World Cup despite not qualifying for the knockout stage. India finished third in their group after defeats to Pakistan and New Zealand in the Super 12s stage.

One of the silver linings that can be taken, according to Dasgupta, is the attitude of the Indian players after losing their first two games of the tournament. He outlined the positive approach employed by the opening pair of KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma and also the attacking bowling of Ravindra Jadeja. Dasgupta said:

"The attitude of the Indian players has got to be the silver lining for India. Like the intent by opening batsmen and Jadeja's bowling. Jadeja was looking to pick wickets and not only just contain runs by bowling defensively. Important to keep this mindset going. Hopefully they continue this brand of cricket even though the opponents were not the strongest teams."

KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma scored the bulk of the runs for India in the latter stages of the campaign. Ravindra Jadeja bagged the player of the match award twice for his exploits with the ball.

The quality of cricket has improved massively under Shastri: Dasgupta

Dasgupta noted Ravi Shastri's contributions as a coach and lauded him for leaving the Indian team in a better state than it was when he started his stint. He also stressed upon how the quality of cricket has also improved over the years under his watch. Dasgupta added:

"The win percentage under Ravi Shastri has been around 60%, there are hardly any teams that can say they have such a win percentage over the last 4-5 yyears One of the talking points from this tenure is how he took this Indian team and how he has left it in a better state now. The quality of cricket has improved massively."

Ravi Shastri's reign as head coach of Team India came to an end with the culmination of India's involvement in the T20 World Cup. He has been replaced by Rahul Dravid, who will assume control of the side, starting from the home tour against New Zealand.