Team India will play a five-match T20 series from South Africa from June 9. The team will take the field without skipper Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli as well as several star players who were rested after the two-month-long Indian Premier League 2022 season. In Rohit’s absence, KL Rahul will lead the Indian team against the Proteas team, with wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant as the vice-captain. Meanwhile, captain Kapil Dev, who won the World Cup for Team India in 1983, has given a big statement about Rohit, Rahul and Kohli.
In IPL 2022, both Rohit and Kohli were seen struggling with poor form. While the Mumbai Indians captain failed to score a single half-century in the season, Kohli also scored at a poor average of 22.73. KL Rahul finished the season as the second highest run-scorer (616 runs in 15 innings) batsman. His innings in the team’s Eliminator match against Royal Challengers Bangalore was criticized. Chasing the target of 208 runs, Rahul scored 79 runs in 58 balls.
Former Team India captain Kapil Dev has opened up on the performances of Rohit, Kohli and Rahul, who are currently Team India’s top-3 batsmen in T20Is. He said on YouTube channel Uncut, “He has a huge reputation and there is a lot of pressure on him, which should not happen. You have to play fearless cricket. These are all players who can hit with a strike rate of 150-160.”
Kapil further said, “Whenever we need a run from him, he is all out. When it comes time to score a quick run (in the innings), he is out. This increases the pressure. Either you play the role of an anchor or you play the role of a striker.” Talking further about KL Rahul, the former World Cup winning India captain said that his role should be clear. He also said that the consistent poor performance of the top-3 batsmen may force the BCCI to make changes.
Kapil said, “When you talk about KL Rahul, if the team asks him to play full 20 overs and he comes back after scoring 60 runs, then you are not doing justice to your team. I think the approach needs to be changed. If it doesn’t, you’ll have to change players. Big impact is expected from a big player. It is not enough to be a big name, you also have to perform well.