It's been more than a month but there's a small hole in every Indian fan's heart that has refused to heal since the World Cup 2023 final. A chanceless campaign for the Indian team up until the final came to end in the summit clash as Australia proved to be too strong on the day in all three departments as the Men in Blue suffered a crushing defeat. The drought for an ICC title became even longer and even though the Men in Blue have won a few games and series since then but this time it hasn't mattered as given the magical campaign the team had in those six weeks prior to the final deserved to have a title at the end of it all but it wasn't to be.
One of the architects of India's memorable World Cup campaign, Mohammed Shami admitted that this loss still stings. Shami, who was the leading wicket-taker of the tournament with 24 scalps in just seven games, registered a best haul by an Indian bowler in an ODI (7/57) in the semi-final against New Zealand, said that he still doesn't know why India had to pay so heavily despite having a brilliant campaign.
Speaking to the reporters on Wednesday, December 27, Shami said, "The whole nation was disappointed (when India lost the World Cup), every single fan was sad. We tried our hundred per cent to continue the momentum we had created from the start and continue till the end and win the final.
"Lekin, yeh ek chubhta hai. Isko explain nahi kar sakte ki end moment mein kahan pe galti hui hai ya humne kya cheez aisi ki hai jo hume itna bada harjana bhugatna pada (But this one stings... it cannot be explained, where we went wrong at the end or what we did that we had to pay such a huge penalty. It's very painful," he added.
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Shami has been out of action since the World Cup as he is nursing an ankle injury and has missed the ongoing Test series against South Africa because of that.
