Gautam Gambhir reacts to Mohammad Kaif's 'best team' statement
- By Web Desk -
- Nov 25, 2023
Former India cricketer Gautam Gambhir has responded to compatriot Mohammad Kaif’s remarks on Australia’s ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 win.
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Australia won their sixth ODI World Cup title after beating hosts India by six wickets in a one-sided final at Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium on Sunday.
Following the defeat, Mohammad Kaif made news for his memorable tirade in which he said that India, not Australia, were the rightful winner.
“𝘎𝘢𝘳𝘷 𝘴𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘢 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘯𝘢 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘶𝘥𝘢 𝘩𝘢𝘪. 𝘚𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘢𝘮 𝘬𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘢 𝘩𝘶𝘯 𝘙𝘰𝘩𝘪𝘵 𝘚𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘢 𝘢𝘶𝘳 𝘶𝘯𝘬𝘪 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘬𝘰!”
.@MohammadKaif lauds this strong, brave, dominating, sensational #TeamIndia side & believes they were the best team at the #CWC23! pic.twitter.com/iqB1fqKQO9
— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) November 19, 2023
“I can never accept that the best team has won the World Cup,” he said. “The Indian team is the best team on paper. Congratulations to Australia but I am not ready to accept that the best team won the World Cup.”
He added, “This Indian team has been the best side. They are the best team on paper. They would win so many times playing against the same Australian team, even though they lost today. It was one of those bad day, this happens sometimes.”
Australia’s David Warner and former England captain Michael Vaughan had reacted to Mohammad Kaif’s statements on social media.
I like MK, issue is it does not matter what’s on paper. At the end of the day you need to perform when it matters. That’s why they call it a final. That’s the day that counts and it can go either way, that’s sports. 2027 here we come 👍 https://t.co/DBDOCagG2r
— David Warner (@davidwarner31) November 22, 2023
Maybe England are World champs then .. Brilliant side on A4 paper .. 👍👍 @clubprairiefire https://t.co/AXXw78Z086
— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) November 22, 2023
However, Mohammad Kaif maintained India was the best team in the tournament.
Facts: It was Australia’s day in final, they won, they are World Cup winners.
More facts: India comprehensively won 10 games, they lost 11th, they had the best bowlers and batters. They were the tournament’s best team.
Both facts, on paper and on field. Relax Australia.— Mohammad Kaif (@MohammadKaif) November 23, 2023
Now, Mohammad Kaif’s compatriot Gautam Gambhir has reacted to his “best team winning the World Cup” statement. The latter, in a show, said that Australia were the rightful winner of the tournament as India did not play well on the day it mattered most.
“I heard some of the experts saying that the best team did not go on to win the World Cup,” he said. “That’s absolutely not true. That’s one of the most bizarre statements that I have heard. It’s actually the best team that has won the World Cup. Let’s be honest. India won 10 matches, they were in very good form, that’s why there were favourites. But Australia also won 8 matches after losing the first two matches.”
He added, “The team that won the World Cup is the best team. If you are going to defend it, say that India won 10 matches and were out because of just one bad match. Whether you finish number one or four, you must play the semi-final and final. Winning six league games out of 8 is easy, you have to then win two out of two in the knockouts. That’s the difficult part.”
He added, “Let’s accept that the best team has gone on to win the World Cup and India did not play well in the final. Let’s accept it. The more you keep saying it, the further you will go from reality.”