Legendary Kapil Dev has shared his thoughts on the Indian team's shoddy performance in the T20 World Cup so far. The Virat Kohli-led Indian unit is in a tricky situation at the moment, starting at group-stage exit from the T20 showpiece.
Coming into the tournament as 'favourites' to clinch the title, India suffered a crushing 10-wicket defeat to arch-rivals Pakistan in their opener. What followed was an eight-wicket loss to New Zealand, making things worse for Kohli and Co.
Kapil, the World Cup-winning captain, believes that the Indian team should not depend on other teams to book the semi-final berth.
India need to beat Afghanistan, who are placed second on the table with a Net Run Rate (NRR) of (+3.097), Scotland and Namibia by big margins to improve their own NRR.
If India defeat Afghanistan by a huge margin and the Mohammad Nabi-led side then stuns New Zealand, all three teams will finish on six points, where the NRR will come into the picture.
Kapil Dev bats for promotion of IPL talents
"If we succeed on the basis of some other teams, Indian cricket has never appreciated it. If you want to win the World Cup, or reach the semi-finals, do it on your own strengths. It is better not to depend on other teams. I guess the selectors will have to decide the future of the big names and the big players," Kapil told ABP News.
Kapil also called for the inclusion of more youngsters in the team's composition. The Indian Premier League (IPL) has unearthed many young guns, who can be backed to take over the mantle from "big" players of the current Indian camp.
"They need to think whether the youngsters who are performing well in the IPL, is it time to give them a chance? How do we make the next generation better? If they lose, there is no harm because they will gain experience. But if these big players don't perform now and play such bad cricket, there is going to be plenty of criticism. The BCCI needs to intervene and think about bringing more youngsters in," he added.
