The Men in Blue will look to win back-to-back ICC titles when they face the Black Caps in Dubai on Sunday.
India’s hunger for a global title remains undiminished, but there will be no desperation when they clash with New Zealand in the Champions Trophy final, opener Shubman Gill says.
India ended a 13-year global title drought when they won the Twenty20 World Cup in the West Indies last year under Rohit Sharma’s captaincy.
Stopping that barren run, which included losing the 2023 Cricket World Cup final on home soil, has allowed them to play the big matches like Sunday’s final without getting overwhelmed by the occasion, the 25-year-old Gill said.
“Sometimes, once you get one title, that kind of breaks the jinx,” he told reporters at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on the eve of the final.
“It gives you the momentum. Also, you are not very desperate about getting the title. It’s not good when desperation kicks in. Then, it becomes hard to put the occasion out of the equation.
“In all these big matches, the players or the teams that can put aside the pressure and take the occasion out of the game have a better chance of winning.
“Winning the title in 2024 doesn’t mean that we are less hungry, but it makes us more balanced that, yes, we’ve won an ICC title, and we’ll try to do our best to win this one.
“It is my second ICC event for team India and second final [along with the 2023 defeat]. The last time, which we couldn’t do, we will try to do it this time.”
India remain the tournament’s only unbeaten team, having already defeated New Zealand in a group game in Dubai.
They have been boosted by stalwart Virat Kohli’s return to form and the firepower in their middle order.
“This is the best batting lineup that I have been part of,” Gill said. “Rohit and Virat are all-time one-day greats. Rohit is one of the best openers in white ball, and Virat is one of the best ODI batsmen ever.
“The batting depth that we have has made life easier for the top-order batsmen. Those of us in the top order play with so much freedom because of our batting depth.”
The unmatched legacy of Rohit Sharma in men’s ICC tournaments
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There has been speculation that this could be the final tournament for both Rohit and Kohli. The latter’s fine form including an unbeaten 100 against archrivals Pakistan in a group game and hit 84 in another successful chase in the semifinal – has quelled much of the talk surrounding his future.
Rohit, however, has been slammed for not converting his starts into bigger scores but will lead the side into a fourth final at an ICC event – the first to complete the clean sweep of appearances as a skipper in finals at major tournaments.
Gill, who opens with Rohit, said India’s batting depth has allowed the top-order to bat freely.
While the Indian media continue to speculate on Rohit’s retirement, Gill said there has been no talk about it in the dressing room.
“The discussion has been around the final,” said Gill. “I don’t think even Rohit is thinking about it too much.”