Mumbai: With less than 50 days to go until the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup India & Sri Lanka 2026, JioStar has unveiled Rise Of Champions, a gripping series tracing the Indian men’s cricket team from the glory years of 2007, 2011, and 2013 to a decade marked by heartbreak and near misses.
The first episode, Illusion, now streaming on JioHotstar, sets the stage for India’s rollercoaster journey in ICC events, highlighting both triumphs and missed opportunities.
India’s 2024 T20 World Cup-winning skipper Rohit Sharma recalls the optimism following India’s inaugural T20 World Cup win in 2007: “I was in my first year with the team during the 2007 T20 World Cup and I was just 20. After winning that trophy, we felt we would continue our winning ways.”
Sanjay Manjrekar elaborates on the influence of MS Dhoni during India’s golden era: “Dhoni’s greatness was that on the big stage, he just held his nerve better than the opposing captain.”
Looking back at India’s 2013 Champions Trophy triumph, Eoin Morgan, former England skipper, underscores the importance of silverware: “I think any team that dominates an era is always judged by the trophies they win and the level of success they’ve had.”
Australia’s Aaron Finch reflects on the immense expectations on Indian teams: “When you’re an Indian team with so much experience and skill, people look at the team sheet and assume they have to win. It’s a remarkable team, but that reputation carries its own weight as well.”
Former cricketers also weighed in on India’s disappointments. After the 2016 T20 World Cup semifinal loss to the West Indies, Danny Morrison noted: “That’s what I love about ICC World Cup events. The underdog can suddenly rise and cause an upset. We’ve seen that.”
Tom Moody expressed surprise that India’s talent pool didn’t translate into more trophies: “It’s hard to get your head around, particularly given the resources India built up. The side was growing stronger and the depth of options became nearly overwhelming.”
Reflecting on the Kohli era, Harbhajan Singh didn’t hold back: “The kind of team Virat had, they could have won three or four trophies. Nahi jeete kuch toh karan honge but I still feel unke paas achhi team thi (If they didn’t win, there must be a reason, but I still feel he had a solid team).”
Sanjay Manjrekar also voiced concerns on team management: “Team selection under Ravi and Virat was always my biggest concern.”
However, AB de Villiers offered a counterpoint: “Frankly, it irritates me that people always judge a captain solely on whether they’ve won a World Cup. Saying ‘that guy is useless because he hasn’t won a World Cup’ is unfair.”
Tom Moody summed up the era succinctly: “The Virat Kohli era was an era of high expectation, but ultimately, disappointment.”
Rise Of Champions promises an unflinching look at the Indian cricket team’s journey—a blend of glory, near misses, and lessons from the era that shaped modern Indian cricket.
