With the Indian Premier League (IPL) nearing its conclusion, Indian cricketers are set to shift gears and start preparations for the T20 World Cup 2024. With Rohit Sharma leading the side, the Indian team would hope to go all the way in the marquee event, unlike the ODI World Cup last year where a defeat in the final against Australia ended the big dream. While Team India has the star power in all departments of the game, former India cricketer Harbhajan Singh has urged the team to play as unit, putting ‘we’ in front of ‘I’.

In a chat on Star Sports, Harbhajan Singh recalled how senior players rallied around MS Dhoni during the ICC World T20 in 2007, giving him ample support and guidance to succeed as a unit.

“Not many people know, Dhoni was a very new captain, so he needed that support from all of us. Before matches against teams like Australia, New Zealand, and England, our core group would get together during the game to strategize for the next few overs. For example, in a match against Australia, I bowled the crucial 17th or 18th overs because if we managed to give away only 4 runs, it saved us a lot,” said Harbhajan.

“Back then, batters didn’t score 25 runs in an over unlike today. The decision-making was always a team effort. When you play together as a united team, you win more competitions. Dhoni was a great listener, taking collective decisions that benefited the team. It was never about individual performances but about playing as ‘we’,” he added.

Harbhajan asked if the Indian team, under Rohit Sharma, could do something similar and achieve collective success.

“Similarly, the question now is, can Rohit Sharma do it? Rohit is not alone; it’s about ‘we’. If we play as a united team, thinking about collective success rather than individual achievements, then we can win. But if we only focus on personal goals, things become difficult. It’s all about the ‘we’ mentality, and that’s when things come to life,” said Bhajji.