Legendary captain Kapil Dev said that India are not the favourites to win the 2022 T20 World Cup as he is concerned about Rohit Sharma and Co making it to the semifinals. India had an underwhelming show last year in the WC at the UAE where they failed to make it to the top four. There are a lot of changes in the Indian team after last year’s mega event including the new coach and the captain.
India have played dominant cricket in the bilateral matches this year but they struggled in the multi-nation Asia Cup and failed to enter the final. The injuries of Ravindra Jadeja and Jasprit Bumrah are also a worrying sign for them as the match-winners have been ruled out of the tournament.
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Dev, who led the Indian team to 1983 World Cup glory, feels that Rohit and Co. have only a thirty per cent chance of making it to the semifinals this year.
“In T20 cricket, the team winning one match can lose the next. It’s very difficult to talk about the chances of India winning the World Cup. The issue is can they make it to the top four? And I am concerned about their making it to the top four. Only then anything can be said. For me, it’s just a 30 percent chance of India making it to the top (last) four," Kapil Dev said on Tuesday at the sidelines of a promotional event in Lucknow.
He also talked about having a quality all-rounder in the side as he said that skipper Rohit has the liberty of having Hardik Pandya in the squad who has the ability to do well in all three departments.
“What more do you want in the side other than having all-rounders who could win matches for a side not only in the World Cup but in all other matches or events? A cricketer like Hardik Pandya has been quite useful for India."
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“All-rounders are the key players of any side, and they become the strength of a team. An all-rounder like Hardik gives Rohit Sharma the liberty to make use of the sixth bowler in a match. He is a good batter, bowler, and fielder too. Ravindra Jadeja is also a perfect all-rounder for India. Even in our days, we had plenty of all-rounders in the India team," he added.
Pandya has often been touted as the next ‘Kapil Dev’ of Indian cricket. The former India captain suggested that it’s good for young players to set higher benchmarks to succeed on the big stage.
“In our days too, we had idols, we used to follow them. It’s good that new benchmarks are being set by young cricketers. It’s a very good sign for a team and I believe that everyone should keep working hard to set much higher benchmarks," he said.
The 63-year-old also heaped praise on Suryakumar Yadav as he feels that his inclusion makes the Indian batting order stronger.
“In fact, no one ever thought about Yadav being an impact player in the future, but he did great with his batting and forced the world to talk about him. Now, we can’t think about India without him. Having a batter like Suryakumar in the team in the company of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul, a team automatically becomes strong," he added.
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