Pressure of winning makes Men in Blue vulnerable: Ian Smith

Pressure of winning makes Men in Blue vulnerable: Ian Smith

Ian Smith was in the commentary box when MS Dhoni fell just short of his crease, being run out by a direct hit from Martin Guptill in the deep, during the World Cup semifinal in 2019. Smith's voice, a combination of euphoria at New Zealand closing in on the final-and sadness that it could be Dhoni's last moment in international cricket-became one of the iconic pieces of commentary in recent times.

One of New Zealand's top wicketkeeper-batters of the 1980s and early 90s, Smith felt the Dhoni dismissal took the World Cup away from India. The ICC trophy has kept eluding them and during an interaction with select journalists at the Bridgetown airport, Smith felt "it's the pressure of winning every day that makes India vulnerable in the biggest moments".

"Pressure is a big thing. No one plays with as much pressure as the Indian team does. Everyday you have to win- that's an idea that can make you vulnerable. In tournaments like the World Cup, they become the iconic team that everyone wants to beat," Smith said.

The 'keeper himself was part of a brilliant New Zealand team led by Martin Crowe in the 1992 World Cup that played game-changing cricket only to falter against Pakistan in the semifinal.

Smith empathizes with India and says "it's not because of lack of talent that India haven't won". "But they carry some of the pressure of the burden that hurts them. Fear of failure can be a big thing in sport."

However, the man who played 67 Tests and 98 ODIs, believes that India are the favourites, along with Australia, to win the T20 World Cup. "It's because of the individual match-winners that these two teams have. They have seven or eight and you only need two to come off," he said.

'With time, Pant can be as good as Gilchrist'

During the course of the conversation, when TOI asked him how he feels about Rishabh Pant, Smith said: "He still has a bit to go, but he can be as good as Adam Gilchrist. In Tests, he can bat down the order and in white-ball cricket at the top, so there is similarity with Gilchrist. If he goes this way, there can be a time when people bracket him with Gilchrist."

Smith went on to add that Pant is a combination of "dynamic, aggressive and extremely dangerous" and has the ability to compliment the likes of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. "I am a firm believer of best players playing maximum deliveries and No. 3 is the perfect slot for Pant," Smith said.

'Nothing wrong in Williamson refusing central contract'

There has been quite a bit of talk about New Zealand legend Kane Williamson's decision not to accept the central contract by the board. Smith, though, doesn't see anything wrong in Williamson's decision at this stage of his career.

"Williamson is definitely not the first player to do this, Boult has done it before him. He is in a stage of his career where he can "pick and choose". There is a talk that players are doing this so that they can play more franchise cricket. Even I would have done the same if it was happening in the 1990s. It isn't wrong to follow the money at this stage of one's career," Smith added.

He also felt that New Zealand are probably at the end of a very successful cycle and they need to up the ante. "First things first, you cannot have the same coach for all the three formats. They probably need a new broom to sweep through."

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