Collective Triumph Over Individual Glory: India's Path to T20 World Cup Victory
Former Indian cricket captain Kapil Dev, who led the team to its maiden World Cup triumph in 1983, believes that collective performance, not individual brilliance, will be paramount in determining whether Rohit Sharma's team can end its trophy drought and emerge victorious in the T20 World Cup in the West Indies.
Teamwork: The Keystone of Success
Why talk about only Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya, or Kuldeep Yadav? Dev said in an exclusive interview with PTI Videos. Everybody has a role to play. Their job is to win the tournament.
Dev emphasized that while individual players may occasionally emerge as match-winners, consistent tournament success requires a concerted effort from the entire team.
To win a match, an odd person can come out, but to win a tournament everybody has to work together, he asserted. If we are going to depend on Bumrah or Arshdeep, then you are going to lose it.
Lessons from the 1983 World Cup
Dev pointed out that in his 1983 World Cup-winning team, he wasn't the only one who performed exceptionally.
Roger Binny, Mohinder Amarnath, Kirti Azad, Yashpal Sharma all came out with match-winning performances, he said. If you start depending on one player it means you are not going to win tournaments more often.
Praising India's Current Form
Kapil Dev wished India good luck ahead of their semi-final match against England and expressed his hopes that the Men in Blue would clinch the trophy.
All the Best, good luck, I hope the Indian players, the way they are playing keep on playing like that, they should not have a bad day and be out of the tournament ... like what happened last time in the 50 overs World Cup, said the iconic all-rounder.
They are playing well, they are enjoying. Hats off to them. Good luck to them. I wish them all the luck and happiness.
India's Rise as Title Contenders
The 65-year-old, who was elected president of Professional Golf Tour of India on Wednesday, said that he feels proud to see India perceived as title contenders every time they compete in a global event.
We should be happy that we are able to think that we can win. 20 years back, you weren't thinking, he said. It's important that in every tournament India is going as a favourite. That's a big thing. We never thought about that. That's enough encouragement for a youngster to take up the sport. I am very happy to see where Indian cricket has reached wonderfully well.
Appreciation for Jasprit Bumrah
Kapil Dev lauded Bumrah, who has been the star performer for India with 11 wickets in the tournament so far.
Bumrah is 1000 times better than me. These young boys are far better than us, he said. We had more experience. They are better. They are very good. Outstanding. They are fitter. They are much more hardworking. They are fantastic.
Downplaying the Role of Captain
However, Dev played down the role of a captain.
Everybody can do captaincy. Hardik, Virat, Rohit everyone can do captaincy, he said. When you give ball to somebody, the bowler has to do the job. Yes captain is there to help you out but it's not like if you don't win he is not a good captain.
