T20 World Cup 2021: Nasser Hussain reckons India don't play fearless cricket in ICC events

Team India’s dismal campaign in the T20 World Cup 2021 has been nothing less than a shocker. With numerous T20 stalwarts in the ranks, the Virat Kohli-led team stepped into the tournaments as favourites. However, they couldn’t live up to the expectations and got knocked out of the semi-final race. Notably, for the first time since 2012, the Men in Blue have not reached the knock-out stage of an ICC event.

Former England skipper Nasser Hussain is one of the many who placed their bets on Team India ahead of the competition. However, he was surprised by the way India performed against Pakistan and New Zealand in their first two fixtures. Opining on what went wrong for the inaugural-edition champions, Hussain reckons India hold themselves back and don’t play a fearless brand of cricket in ICC events.

India are holding India back in ICC events: Nasser Hussain

“You have got to go out and express yourself. They (India) have got so much talent. That may be the only thing that’s holding India back in ICC events. They don’t quite play the fearless brand of cricket that they deserve to because they are so talented,” Nasser Hussain said while speaking to t20worldcup.com.

India suffered a 10-wicket defeat against arch-rivals Pakistan in their opening fixture. While they were expected to bounce back, New Zealand thrashed them by eight wickets in their following encounter. Although India did defeat Afghanistan and Scotland comprehensively, it won’t earn them a place in the final four. Meanwhile, Hussain said that India’s historic defeat to Pakistan was a massive setback for them.

“I had them as favorites. They had been playing IPL here, are a star-studded side. They got a setback in that first game. The way Shaheen Afridi bowled in the powerplay, those two deliveries that Rohit (Sharma) and (KL) Rahul got would have got a lot of great cricketers out,” asserted the 53-year-old.

“That’s sometimes the problem with the Indian side. They are so good at the top, some of the middle-order don’t get much of a hit and suddenly you need a Plan B and that was found wanting,” he added. Meanwhile, India will meet Nambia in their last league-stage game of the competition. Although the game is a dead rubber, a defeat against an associate team is the last thing India would want.