Kapil Dev: “In future, India will have 3 teams, 1 each for Twenty20, ODI and Tests”

1983 ODI World Cup-winning captain Kapil Dev has predicted that India will have three separate teams in the future - one each for the three formats of the game. He stated that doing the same will allow Indian cricket to have a bigger pool.

India have fielded two different cricket teams simultaneously on a couple of occasions. In 2021, the Test team was in England, while a white-ball side, led by Shikhar Dhawan, traveled to Sri Lanka. Back in 1998 as well, Indian cricket had two separate sides playing simultaneously - one in the Commonwealth Games and the other in the Sahara Cup.

Responding to the rising number of cricketers making their Team India debut in recent times, Kapil told Gulf News:

“The flip side of changing the team frequently allows many cricketers a chance to play. In future, I can see India will have three teams, one each for Twenty20, ODI and Tests. That way you can have a bigger pool also.”

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The 64-year-old, however, expressed unhappiness over the constant chopping and changing in the Indian team. Questioning the decision to leave out Kuldeep Yadav from the second Test against Bangladesh after he won the Man of the Match award in the first Test, Kapil stated:

“Having said that, they should have one set of teams for a period of time. You can change an odd person I can understand that. But if you Man of the Match is getting dropped the next day and somebody else comes in, we as cricketers don’t understand that.”

Kuldeep claimed eight wickets and scored a crucial 40 in the Chattogram Test, but was shockingly left out of the playing XI for the next match.

“Main players should remain fit” - Kapil Dev on India’s 2023 World Cup chances

Kapil, who led India to their first-ever ODI World Cup triumph in 1983, asserted that the Men in Blue have the team to lift the trophy later in the year.

He, however, added that the fitness of players would be one of the key factors heading into the ICC event. The former all-rounder said:

“Yes, we have a team, but there are other teams also who have the ability to win the World Cup. To win the trophy, you need a stroke of luck, right combination and top of that the main players should remain fit, that’s the most important thing.

"When they play so much cricket, injuries are going to take place and I hope when they get to play the tournament they don’t get injured.”

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India’s last World Cup triumph came at home under MS Dhoni in 2011.