As India gear for the upcoming T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia, many have had doubts about the form of T20I skipper Rohit Sharma and former skipper Virat Kohli. Rohit had his first half-century-less Indian Premier League (IPL) season whereas Kohli had an inconsistent run as well. While India gear up for the upcoming five-T20I series at home against South Africa under the leadership of stand-in skipper KL Rahul, the 1983 World Cup-winning skipper Kapil Dev has criticised India’s top-order batters.
“They have a big reputation and there’s huge pressure on them, which shouldn’t be the case. You have to play fearless cricket. They 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 the pressure. Either you play an anchor or you play striker,” Kapil Dev said on the YouTube channel Uncut.
The trio of Rohit, Kohli and Rahul have not performed in big games in the recent years whether it is the World Cup 2019 semi-final, World Test Championship (WTC) final or the games against New Zealand and Pakistan in T20 World Cup 2021.
Recently, Rahul anchored Lucknow Super Giants' (LSG) run chase against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 eliminator but failed to finish the game. Dev feels that the approach in T20 cricket needs to be changed and Rahul should have played his natural attacking game instead of taking the game till the end and leaving too much for the lower-middle order batters.
“When you talk about KL Rahul, if the team tells him to play the entire 20 overs and you come back with a score of, say 60 not out, you’re not doing justice to your team. I think the approach needs to change. And if it doesn’t, you have to change the players. A big player is expected to make a big impact. Having a big reputation is not enough, you also have to deliver great performances,” the 63-year-old explained.
Rahul ended IPL 2022 as the second-highest run-scorer. He will lead India in the shortest format for the first time at Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi in the first of the five-T20I series. In addition to Rohit and Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah has been rested for the series as well.
