Kolkata: India’s first World Cup-winning captain and legendary all-rounder Kapil Dev believes that India can successfully defend the Champions Trophy which begins on June 1 in England and Wales, provided the fact that there aren’t any injuries.
The iconic cricketer was in the capital city of India at the unveiling of his wax statue at the Madame Tussauds Museum and he said, ” I think the way India is playing they should be able to defend (the Champions Trophy title). Should not have any major injuries. Good part is that they won the last time.”
He further added that the team needs to apply themselves and keep a continuous pressure on their opponents to win the silverware for the second consecutive time.
“It looks good the way India is playing for the past 5-7 years….It depends on how well they will apply themselves in the period. It is not easy to win any tournament. Do we have a team? We have. Depends on how they maintain themselves in that couple of weeks and keep pressure on the opponents,” said Kapil.
Kapil, however did not pay much importance to the fact that Virat Kohli’s poor run with the willow so far in the IPL, but emphasised on the fact that all the individuals should perform to their potential which is all that matters at the end of the day.
“Even in Tests, people used to say if Virat does not score, India wouldn’t win. Everybody is important, unfair to bring down other players. Does not matter if an individual is in form or not” he said.
The former skipper shared his experiences of having to unclothe himself in order to have his wax statue accurately completed.
“I had to take off my clothes — didn’t have to strip totally but it was weird. It’s a new thought. I was more educated about how this is done,” he felt.
He also went on to say that there wouldn’t be another ‘Kapil Dev’ in the future but there’s going to be 100 more, who would be way better than him.
“It is) impossible to have another Kapil Dev. But there will be better Kapils, 100s more. (Ravichandran) Ashwin is an all-rounder. (Ravindra) Jadeja and (MS) Dhoni too are fab all-rounders. Anyone with more than one skill is a good all-rounder. I wish a fast bowler and batsman come out but this Indian team has enough players” said Kapil.
The performance of the Indian players, especially the batters who have been selected for the upcoming Champions Trophy has been a bit of a worrying fact for many Indian cricket lovers. But with legends like Kapil Dev having faith in the team’s abilities, the Indian stars would definitely be high on motivation ahead of the ‘Mini World Cup.’
(With inputs from agencies)