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The Indian men’s cricket team hasn’t won an ICC trophy since their Champions Trophy triumph in 2013. The Men in Blue have come close multiple times over the last ten years but still couldn’t put forth a winning performance. Addressing this concern, former World Cup-winning captain Kapil Dev believes the Indian team is over-dependent on one or two key players and because of this they have failed to win major tournaments.
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While talking to ABP news, the Haryana Hurricane spoke about how India has been putting a lot of load on Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, which has held the team back. Dev further stressed the importance of finding five to six high-quality players, on which, the team can rely when the likes of Kohli and Sharma aren’t performing.
"There are always a couple of players who turn out to be the pillars of your side. The team revolves around them but we need to break that and build at least 5-6 players like that. That's why I say, you can't depend on Virat and Rohit. You need players who fulfil each of their responsibilities. The youngsters will need to come forward and say 'it is our time'," the legendary all-rounder said.
Kapil Dev further expressed that the team management needs to take more gutsy decisions while keeping away their personal biases and interests. The 1983 World Cup winning captain wants the management to believe and trust other players as well because two players can’t win the World Cup.
He said, "If you want to win the World Cup, the coach, selectors, and team management will have to make some tough decisions. Personal interests will have to take a backseat and they will need to think about the team. Aap Virat pe, Rohit pe ya 2-3 players pe bharosa karenge ki wo hume World Cup jeetayenge toh aisa kabhi bhi nahi ho sakta."
"You should believe in your team. Do we have such a team? Definitely. Do we have certain match winners? Yes, of course! We have players who can win the World Cup", he further claimed.