Gautam Gambhir visits Siddhivinayak, seeks blessings forward of India’s T20 World Cup title defence | Cricket Information – The Occasions of India – Imperial Wire

Gautam Gambhir and Sitanshu Kotak throughout a go to to Siddhivinayak Temple. (PTI)

India head coach Gautam Gambhir paid a go to to the Shree Siddhivinayak Temple on Thursday, providing prayers to Lord Ganesha forward of the workforce’s dwelling T20 World Cup marketing campaign. He was joined by batting coach Sitanshu Hargovindbhai Kotak throughout the go to.

The defending champions start their title defence on Saturday once they tackle the US of America on the Wankhede Stadium, a venue steeped in Indian cricket historical past.

Gambhir has made it some extent to hunt blessings throughout current excursions as properly. Earlier within the season, he visited the Kamakhya Temple in Guwahati earlier than the third T20I of the five-match sequence towards New Zealand. Following that match, Gambhir and the Indian squad additionally supplied prayers on the Sri Varaha Lakshmi Narasimha temple in Simhachalam, Visakhapatnam, forward of the fourth T20I. Led by Suryakumar Yadav, India enter the match as one of many standout favourites. A profitable marketing campaign would see the Males in Blue turn into the primary workforce to defend a males’s T20 World Cup title. With no host nation ever having gained the trophy, India have the prospect to attain one thing unprecedented, and stopping them from reaching each landmarks would require an distinctive effort. India’s depth and high quality within the shortest format set them aside. This squad is extensively considered as stronger than the workforce that went unbeaten throughout situations within the USA and West Indies two years in the past. Their final T20I sequence defeat got here in August 2023, and for the reason that earlier World Cup, they’ve recorded a formidable win–loss ratio of 6.5 in a format identified for sudden swings. Preparation has additionally been thorough. Beneath Suryakumar’s management, India not too long ago claimed five-match T20I sequence victories over South Africa and New Zealand, additional underlining their management over the Proteas. That dominance continued on Wednesday with a 30-run win over South Africa within the official warm-up match, as India look to hold sturdy momentum into their opening conflict towards the USA.