“Obviously, it’s a very weak statement”: Kapil Dev expresses concerns on Virat Kohli’s ‘we weren’t brave’ statement

Kapil Dev has expressed his genuine concerns regarding the Indian team after Virat Kohli admits about not being brave enough.

The Indian team was considered the favourites to win the T20 World Cup, but they have been horrid in the tournament so far. Pakistan defeated them by 10 wickets in the first game, whereas Kiwis thrashed them by eight wickets in the second.

Indian batting has been struggling to score runs, whereas the bowlers have managed to scalp just two wickets in the tournament. Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are under the scanner, as they are said to be the best in the world. India still has a mathematical chance to qualify, but they will need some miracle to happen.

After the game against New Zealand, Virat admitted that the Indian players were not brave enough.

“I don’t think we were brave enough with bat or ball. We didn’t have much to defend but we weren’t brave when we walked onto the field.”

“Whenever we looked to take the game on, we lost a wicket. That happens in T20 cricket when some hesitation set in,” the 32-year-old said after the match.”

Virat Kohli’s admission that India weren’t brave enough, and about the consequent indecision in shot-making, is worth a discussion. T20 is about fearless cricket and is very hard on reputations.

— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) October 31, 2021

Kapil Dev on Virat Kohli

The captain of India’s world-cup winning 1983 side, Kapil Dev has expressed his concerns on Virat Kohli’s statement.

“Obviously, it’s a very weak statement from a player of Virat Kohli’s stature,” Kapil said.

“We all know that he has the hunger and desire to win games for the team. But, if the body language of the team and thought process of the captain is not up to the mark, it’s very difficult to lift the mood of the players inside the dressing room.”

Kapil Dev is a veteran of 434 test wickets, whereas his knock of 175* against Zimbabwe in the 1983 World Cup is considered one of the bests.

India’s hopes in ICC T20 World Cup 2021

Despite India’s poor performances, the Indian team still has a mathematical chance to qualify for the semi-finals. They need to win all three of their games, whereas Afghanistan should defeat New Zealand. However, the NRR will come into play at the end, and India needs to win games with big margins.

India will play their next game against Afghanistan on 3 November at Abu Dhabi’s Zayed Stadium.