Former India captain Kapil Dev feels that Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led Indian team will find it "very difficult" to win the upcoming World T20 in Sri Lanka considering the manner in which they played in during their last T20 International against New Zealand.
Published: Sep 14, 2012, 07:14 PM (IST)
Edited: Sep 14, 2012, 07:14 PM (IST)
India lost the T20 International against New Zealand at Chennai by one run © AFP
New Delhi: Sep 14, 2012
Former India captain Kapil Dev feels that Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led Indian team will find it “very difficult” to win the upcoming World T20 in Sri Lanka considering the manner in which they played in during their last T20 International against New Zealand.
“My heart says something and mind says something else. My heart says that India will win the World Cup and my cricketing brain thinks that they will find it very difficult. The way they played in the last T20 against New Zealand is not a good sign ahead of such an important tournament,” Kapil said during a promotional event at a city outlet at New Delhi on Friday.
“India lost from a winning position and one cannot let go opportunities just like that. A team can lose confidence if they are defeats like these,” Kapil added.
“Getting off to a good start in the tournament will be a key thing and then should think about the later part of the tournament,” he added.
The 1983 World Cup winning captain didn’t forget to mention that the batting unit has to click in order to excel in the big-ticket event.
“India’s biggest strength is the batting. Every team has 1-2 match winning batsmen, but India have around 5-6 batsmen who can turn the match all by themselves. But then, they will have to avoid complacency,” he said.
Since 0-8 whitewash in Tests in England and Australia, Dhoni’s captaincy has been under scanner but Kapil feels that former has “done enough as captain and doesn’t need to prove anything to anyone.”
The legendary all-rounder was effusive in his praise for comeback man Yuvraj Singh saying,”Everyone is talking about it, but then for me his comeback is more than whatever he does on the field. It is not about scoring 100 or 50 or taking five wickets but the spirit that he has showed.
Talking about BCCI’s superstitious approach which now has seen them drop the new T20 kit, Kapil said,”We all have superstitions but it should take a back seat at this level. On a given day the performance on the field matters the most.” (PTI)
