Will 2024 be short and sweet?

A new year a new challenge the same old quest Hopefully not the same old storyHaving come so close to winning a third ODI World Cup in November India will be desperately hoping 2024 is when their wait for a global title finally ends Not since their conquest of England in the final of the Champions Trophy in 2013 have India managed to wrap their hands around ICC silverware the 50over home World Cup in 2023 seemed to be their best bet and Rohit Sharmarsquos men mounted a spectacular campaign only to stumble at the final hurdle where they were schooled by AustraliaIn 2024 the focus will be trained on the T20 World Cup to be cohosted by the United States and the West Indies Indiarsquos only success in the competition came in the inaugural edition in South Africa in 2007 months before the first edition of the Indian Premier League Itrsquos ironic in a way that despite boasting the most vibrant and thriving T20 franchise tournament in the world India have made only one subsequent final in 2014 It is however worth remembering that the dynamics of franchise cricket are totally different from those at the international level and that for all their experience of the pulls and pressures of the 20over game there is no substitute for playing as a team which the IPL by its very nature does not facilitateDo India have it in them to break their jinx at the T20 World Cup For sure Without a shadow of doubt But can they do so The answer to that isnrsquot as straightforward and that has to do with Indiarsquos record in knockout games at global tournaments in the last several yearsWhile the official word from different captains and coaches revolves around one bad day at the office and the failure to execute plans on the day that mattered it is impossible that the baggage of past failures doesnrsquot accompany the players who have come up short at the crunch in the past Against that backdrop the prospect of a youngish team comprising many personnel who havenrsquot endured heartbreak previously going all the way isnrsquot farfetchedAlso Read The best and worsts of World Cup 2023India have only three internationals at home against Afghanistan in midJanuary before the North American adventure in June They have embarked on an excellent run since the end of the 50over World Cup crushing Australia 41 at home and bouncing back to level a threematch series in South Africa after the opener in Durban was washed out Both results were eked out under new captain Suryakumar Yadav by a distance the best T20 batsman in the world at the moment Suryakumar only got the job because Hardik Pandya expected to helm Indiarsquos challenge at the World Cup is currently unavailable through injury But the 33yearold Mumbaikar has done enough in his seven games as skipper to warrant a serious look for a longer stint at the topA profusion of fearless attacking batsmen headlined of course by Suryakumar with Shubman Gill Ishan Kishan Yashavi Jaiswal Tilak Varma and the irrepressible Rinku Singh in tow is a formidable proposition which assumes even more menacing hues with the imminent return of Pandya The pace department will be fortified when Jasprit Bumrah is back for the shortest format to team up with Mohammed Siraj while there is a plethora of spinning resources with the two wristspinners Kuldeep Yadav and Ravi Bishnoi competing for impact if not a place in the playing XI There is no reason not to expect this bunch to go all the way in a tournament that will feature 20 teams for the first time but India must quickly decide who their captain will bemdashRohit who hasnrsquot played a T20I since the last World Cup in November 2022 Pandya who has been out of commission since 19 October 2023 or Suryakumar the standin incumbent who has led with imagination and poise and who is batting as if itrsquos the easiest proposition that there ever has beenThese greats reach their lifersquos 50 this yearHerschelle GibbsBirthday February 23Shivnarine ChanderpaulBirthday August 16Mohd YousufBirthday August 27Michael VaughanBirthday October 29VVS LaxmanBirthday November 1Ricky PontingBirthday December 19