India will be looking at a second World Cup in a span of just one year and as the dearth of the hallowed silverware keeps on growing, the fans persist on making the noises louder. India’s World Cup winning captain, Kapil Dev had a close look at Team India and opened up on a possible route of changing the Men in Blue into an unstoppable force before the World Cup arrives.
Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have been two massive pillars of support for the Indian batting line up and with the kind of form that they have shown over the years, it is needless to say that in the forthcoming days, it won’t be any different. However, considering their age, India will have to start looking at new match-winners and Kapil Dev simply highlighted the urge to do so.
Talking to ABP News, Kapil Dev said, “If you want to win the World Cup, the coach, selectors, and team management will have to make some tough decisions. Personal interests will have to take a backseat and they will need to think about the team. If you think Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and 2-3 players will win us the World Cup then that’s never going to happen.”
He further added, “You should believe in your team. Do we have such a team? Definitely. Do we have certain match winners? Yes, of course! We have players who can win the World Cup.”
Talking on building a core team of younger players, Kapil said, “There are always a couple of players who turn out to be the pillars of your side. The team revolves around them but we need to break that and build at least 5-6 players like that. That’s why I say, you can’t depend on Virat and Rohit. You need players who fulfil each of their responsibilities. The youngsters will need to come forward and say ‘it is our time’.”
He concluded by talking about why the 2023 World Cup can actually play to India’s strengths, summing, “The biggest positive is that the World Cup will happen in India. Nobody knows the conditions better than we do. For the last 8-10 years, Rohit and Virat have been two of the most important cricketers for India. Many have started to ask the question if this will be Virat and Rohit’s last World Cup. I believe they can play but they will need to work really hard. Fitness will play a key role. There are a lot of youngsters coming up, will they be able to compete with them? There is a question mark but it depends on how they want to play their game. There is no shortage of ability.”
