(ANI Credit)
Former Indian captain Kapil Dev has offered crucial guidance for the Indian team ahead of their semifinal clash against England in Guyana. With Team India maintaining an undefeated streak in the tournament, having defeated formidable opponents like Pakistan and Australia, Kapil Dev emphasized the importance of collective effort over individual brilliance. In an interview with PTI, he urged the team to focus on cohesive teamwork rather than relying solely on individual players to secure victory against the defending champions of the T20 World Cup.
“Why talking about only Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya, or Kuldeep Yadav… everybody has a role to play. Their job is to win the tournament. To win a match, an odd person can come out, but to win a tournament everybody has to work together. If we are going to depend on Bumrah or Arshdeep, then you are going to lose it,” Kapil Dev told PTI in an exclusive chat on Thursday
Kapil Dev emphasized the significance of prioritizing the team’s collective effort, stressing that every player must rise to the occasion and make meaningful contributions for India to clinch the T20 World Cup.
“All the XI players have to contribute. It’s a part & parcel of the game. Let’s talk about team. That gives you a better perspective rather than odd player. Yes main player is there and we can go around him. But everybody has to chip in win the World Cup,” he added.
He additionally cited the instance of India’s victorious 1983 World Cup team to illustrate his argument, stating “Roger Binny, Mohinder Amarnath, Kirti Azad, Yashpal Sharma all came out with match-winning performances. If you start depending on one player it means you are not going to win tournaments more often”.
Kapil Dev sent his best wishes to Team India for the T20 World Cup semi-final, expressing hope that they would triumph over England and advance to face South Africa in the final.
“All the Best, good luck, I hope the Indian players, the way they are playing they keep on playing like that, they should not have a bad day and they can be out of tournament what happened last time in 50 overs World Cup. They are playing well, they are enjoying. Hats off to them. Good luck to them. My prayer. All the people in the country they simply think the way I think. No different. I wish them all the luck and happiness,” the former Indian captain concluded saying.
Meanwhile, rain is expected to disrupt the final, with the toss postponed due to a wet outfield and ongoing rainfall. There is no backup day scheduled for the second semi-final between India and England. Should the match be washed out, India would progress to the final by virtue of finishing atop their group in the Super 8s. In contrast, England faced defeat against South Africa and also lost matches during the group stage.
