“It is not good to comment on everything” - Kapil Dev on Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma’s T20I future
Indian cricket legend Kapil Dev refrained from commenting on a query on the T20I future of star batters Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. He stated that the decision must be left to the selectors.
Kohli and Rohit are the two leading run-getters in the T20I format. While the former has scored 4008 runs from 115 matches at an average of 52.73 and a strike rate of 137.96, Rohit has 3853 runs to his name in 148 games, averaging 31.32 at a strike rate of 139.24.
Neither Rohit nor Kohli have played a T20I game for India since the Men in Blue’s 10-wicket defeat to England in the 2022 T20 World Cup semi-final in Adelaide.
Speaking on the sidelines of the inaugural tee-off ceremony of the Kapil Dev Grant Thornton Invitational golf tournament in Gurugram, Kapil was asked for his views on the T20I future of the two senior Indian cricketers.
He was quoted as saying by PTI:
"This is selectors job and we should leave it to them. It is not good to comment on everything. They are responsible and what they feel good, they should do.”
Kohli and Rohit were the top two run-getters in the ODI World Cup, which concluded in India earlier this month. The former finished the tournament with a record tally of 765 in 11 innings, which included three hundreds and six fifties. The Indian captain smashed 597 runs in 11 innings at an average of 54.27 and a strike rate of 125.95.
While Kohli and Rohit have not played T20Is recently, a number of former cricketers have backed them for the 2024 T20 World Cup to be held in the United States and the West Indies.
“They won 10 matches in a row, is it not enough?”- Kapil urges fans to celebrate India’s World Cup performance
While India lost the World Cup final to Australia, they had a memorable run in the tournament, winning 10 consecutive games.
Reflecting on India’s performance, Kapil urged fans to celebrate their success rather than mourn the defeat in the final.
"They (India) won 10 matches in a row. Is it not enough? We should look at other teams as well. We shouldn't compare anyone. What is important is to see whether they played good cricket or not. We played very good cricket. Final day was not ours so be it," India legend said.
"We should look at performance of other teams as well like, South Africa, England who were the defending champions, they finished last (seventh)," Kapil concluded.
Batting first in the World Cup final, India were held to 240. Australia chased the total in 43 overs with six wickets in hand.