Bharat Arun Admits 2019 World Cup Defeat Still Hurts India

Team India bowling coach Bharat Arun has opened up on India’s heartbreaking loss at the 2019 World Cup. The men in blue were one of the favourites to lift the 50-over World Cup for the third time in a row before New Zealand upset them in the semi-final. In the past few years, India have found themselves short one or two steps from lifting the ICC trophy.

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In the thrilling semi-final encounter that transpired at the Old Trafford in Manchester, India remained favourites after constricting the Kiwis to 239. The overcast conditions favoured the Black Caps’ bowlers as Matt Henry, and Trent Boult left them reeling at 5-3, dismissing Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, and Rohit Sharma cheaply. Ravindra Jadeja and MS Dhoni put on valiant efforts before falling short by 18 runs. Virat Kohli’s men topped the group stage as well.

Speaking about the same, Bharat Arun said that the loss still haunts them. Therefore, the 57-year old emphasised the need for smart preparation and remained firm on doing everything they can to break the hoodoo in the next World Cup whenever it takes place.

“It’s still hurting us and we’ll probably go all out to see that we leave no stone unturned in our preparation to make sure that we do exceptionally well in the World Cup. To win a World Cup, I think we need to really plan well and how far we execute our plan.” Arun stated as quoted by Hindustan Times.

It’d take us at least 6-8 weeks for us to play international matches: Bharat Arun

Bharat Arun agreed with India’s fielding coach R Sridhar on the players requiring a little more than a month to be ready for international cricket. He underlined the need for getting their skills and fitness upgraded in camps before the BCCI could plan a short tournament to have them well prepared.

“It’d take us at least 6-8 weeks for us to play international matches, whereby we’d be first working on the skill, and fitness in the camps and then we’ll progress onto match simulations, and hopefully the BCCI can organize a tournament just before we play the international matches, that would be great for us.” he added.

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