Team India ended its last bit of bilateral action before the 2023 World Cup with a 2-1 series win over Australia. The series did end on a disappointing note with India facing a 66-run loss in the final match in Rajkot on Wednesday. Ex-India opener Virender Sehwag, who was part of the team that won the World Cup in 2011 under MS Dhoni’s captaincy, was crucial to India’s campaign.

Sehwag opened up on Team India’s off-the-field approach throughout the World Cup and explained how Rohit Sharma’s men could benefit from the same.

In a chat with Cricbuzz, Sehwag said –

“When we had a team meeting, we decided we won’t read newspapers, don’t listen to outside noise. Anything which can add to pressure, we won’t do. It had become a rule and almost everyone genuinely followed that.

Sehwag added – “We stayed together, we tried enjoy and do team-building exercises. Because it’s easy to drift apart in long tournaments such as these. Gary Kirsten and MS Dhoni ensured that we stay together.

“Before and after matches, we had get-togethers. And we used to mostly talk cricket. On dinners, cricket strategies used to be topic.

Sehwag further added – “I used to give suggestions. That was a big reason behind our World Cup win. Of course, we had pressure. Whether we were on flight, the CISF personnel, in hotel, the managers and waiters… everyone kept saying, ‘win the World Cup’. But MS Dhoni has this one line, ‘focus on the process’. Our process was good, that’s why we won.”

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