Kapil Dev, former Indian captain, questioned India’s top three players, KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma, and Virat Kohli. Their batting approach in T20 cricket was ridiculed by the great all-rounder, who questioned their strategy in the shortest format.
According to the former captain, all three of them are capable of batting at a strike rate of 150-160, but they limit themselves. Kapil went on to say that when it’s time to increase their score rate, they more often get dismissed. The 63-year-old remarked that the three must play bold cricket and that they must not be intimidated by their huge reputation.
“They have a big reputation and there’s huge pressure on them, which shouldn’t be the case. You have to play fearless cricket. All of these are players who can hit at a strike rate of 150-160. Whenever we need them to score runs, they all get out. When it is time to take off (in the innings), they are out. And that adds to pressure. Either you play an anchor or you play striker,” Kapil stated on the Uncut Youtube channel.
“If you talk about KL Rahul, you need to talk to him about playing 20 overs and if he scores 80-90, then it is good enough. But if you play 20 overs, and you are coming back 60 not out then you are not doing justice to the team,” he further added.
On questioned if the team’s strategy in T20Is needed to change, the former India captain replied, “I think the approach needs to change, if it doesn’t, then you would have to change the players. If they are big players, then they need to have a big impact on the team. You are not big just because of the name, but need to be big on performances. If you are a big name, then you should play cricket like that. Otherwise, we are here to talk about it.”
The T20 World Cup will be held in Australia in October and November this year, and that will be intriguing to see how the Rohit Sharma-led team performs in the championship after failing to reach the semi-finals in the previous edition, which was held in the UAE.
