New Delhi, India

Former cricketers Michael Vaughan and Mark Waugh took a sly dig at the Indian Cricket Team by labelling them as the ‘most under-achieving sports team in the world’ following their latest loss to South Africa in the Boxing Day Test.

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Speaking to Fox Cricket after India lost the first of the two Tests inside three days (by an innings and 32 runs) in Centurion, Vaughan began by asking Waugh if, with all the resources and talent at their disposal, this Indian Team failed to live up to the hype.

“Do you think, in terms of cricket, India are one of the most underachieving sports teams in the world?” Vaughan asks Waugh, to which the former Aussie opener replied, “They haven’t won much in recent times. I think they are [an underachieving side]. They don’t win anything. When was the last time they won something? With all the talent they have, all the skill-set.

Highlighting India’s only biggest achievement in the past decade being their twin Test series win over Australia in Australia, Waugh said he respects India for doing so but cannot fathom that they failed to win any ICC tournament despite reaching the knockout stages in most editions.

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“They’ve won in Australia twice [Test series in 2018/19 and 2020/21]. Magnificent, but the last few World Cups, been nowhere, in the last few T20 World Cups, been nowhere,” Waugh said. “They’re a good team, have got plenty of talent, but with all the talent they have and the resource they have, I just don’t think they win,” he added.

India’s timeline since last ICC title

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Having won their last ICC trophy (the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy) a decade ago under MS Dhoni’s captaincy, the Men in Blue failed to put their hands on any of the four ICC trophies on offer since. 

Despite two of the sharpest minds (Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma) leading the team across formats since Dhoni left the captaincy, India has come close to winning but tumbled under pressure every time.

From the 2014 T20 World Cup final to the 2015 CWC semis against Australia, from the 2016 T20 World semi-final to the heartbreaking 2017 Champions Trophy final against Pakistan, India lost on all occasions. 

The Men in Blue also lost to New Zealand in the 2019 World Cup (in the semis) and failed to reach the finals in the next two editions of the T20 World Cup (in 2021 and 2022). 

However, their worst loss came at the hands of Australia in the 2023 World Cup final (at home in Ahmedabad), when despite entering the summit clash with ten consecutive wins and unparallel momentum on their side, the home side lost with six wickets in hand.

In the meantime, India also lost the two World Test Championship finals (to New Zealand in 2021 and Australia in 2023).