Why is India the favorite to win the Cricket World Cup this time? As huge fans (in a nation where cricket is religion and Sachin is God!), we always believe that team India will somehow win the world, but this time things look extremely different. India’s bowling department is strong (which we have not seen before, yes, we had a couple of match winners before, but this time all bowlers are match winners), the fielders are not scared to throw themselves across the field and the batsmen – well clearly we do not have get into the details of that.
So, what is the change here and why are teams such as Australia, South Africa (which have intimated India before), look just a little soft in front of India?
The answer is extremely simple and has been given (rather consistently), by Virat Kohli during the presentations, here we present the snapshots of them taken from http://cricbuzz.com.
Professional is the word!
Here are some excerpts:
Does that mean that the previous cricketers were not professional? No, that is not what we mean, but this team had redefined the word professionalism for us, by ensuring the job gets done and all team members contribute in the success.
Here are 9 ways how you can be Team India at your work
1) It is about the Team Balance
You need to ensure that each member of the team is working on something that he is exceptionally good at. Kuldeep Yadav cannot be the opening batsman, nor can Rohit Sharma be your strike bowler. Hence you need to figure out what the strengths of your players are and work on them.
Each member has a well-defined role and takes accountability of the same – Virat, Rohit, Shikhar (now Rahul), have a well-defined job of facing the music as well as getting India off to a good start. In fact, this has been the protocol of the batting powerhouse that 1 of the top 3 has to get a big score (the same was the case in the Ganguly, Sehwag, Sachin and Dravid era).
2) The secret of a healthy mind is a healthy body
You need to inculcate a spirit of physical wellness in your organization. Though here I would also add a point that there are cases in which people with special needs have outperformed others, this is a more generic statement.
3) Being aggressive when you work
You do not take no for an answer and go for the kill. This is the mantra that most successful professionals follow.
4) Know when to switch off
Burn outs are extremely frequent in today’s world and you need to seek time to rejuvenate yourself every now and then. Even Bill Gates used to take 2 study vacations every year to strategize and think.
5) Lead by Example
Gone are the days where we have unfit, non-athletic players. Fitness is the mantra and Virat Kohli leads by example. You can check out his fitness and diet on various resources online. This has ultimately led to a very disciplined lot.
6) Enjoy what you do
Have you seen the faces of the players, you can see a sense of enjoyment. It is an old saying then when you enjoy your work, the work ceases to be work, but a source of enjoyment.
7) Stay hungry
How many times have we seen that a player starts off with a bang and slowly sinks into oblivion? You need to be consistent and should outperform yourself every day. A simple equation will make things simpler for you
(.99)365 vs (1.01)365, the former is when you put 99% effort every day and the other when you put 101% every day – the results – 0.02 vs 37.78, you can clearly see the difference your approach makes your life every day.
8) Learn from others
– Australia has been one of the most aggressive teams, just google Sunil Gavaskar 1981 – Melbourne walkout. This team went to Australia (2018) and beat them at their game. The games were super aggressive, the young Indian team learnt from their competitor and won their first test series win in Australia.
9) Keep unlearning and re-learning
Tour of Australia, then playing in India + IPL, now the pitches of England, playing in all these conditions is extremely difficult. The players go through rigorous training to ensure that they are able to put their best foot forward in any situation. The game is also dynamic in nature, from 60 over matches, to 250 being a comfortable to complete uncertainty nowadays, the players need to adapt.
There could be another dozen or so points that can be added to this list, but we hope you got the point. Having said that we wish the Indian team all the best for the rest of the matches and hope to see the hard work pay off.