Indian players should prioritise nation over IPL, responsibility on BCCI to plan better, says Kapil Dev

India
failed
to
make
it
to
the
semifinals
of
the
ICC
event,
paying
heavily
for
the
back-to-back
early
losses
in
the
Super
12
stage.
New
Zealand
clinched
the
last
available
semifinal
spot
on
Sunday
(November
7)
to
knock
Virat
Kohli’s
men
out
of
the
tournament.

“When
players
prioritise
IPL
over
playing
for
the
country,
what
can
we
say?
Players
should
take
pride
in
playing
for
their
nation.
I
don’t
know
their
financial
condition
so
can’t
say
much,”
the
62-year-old
former
captain
told
‘ABP
News’ but
did
not
dwell
on
the
specific
reason
for
his
statement
as
the
IPL
has
not
clashed
with
any
India
matches.

T20
World
Cup
2021:
India
exit:
Here’s
4
reasons
why
Virat
Kohli
and
boys
failed
to
enter
semis

The
event
did,
however,
end
very
close
to
the
T20
World
Cup
this
year
because
of
the
scheduling
issues
created
by
the
COVID-19
pandemic.

“…I
feel
that
first
in
line
should
be
the
country’s
team
and
then
franchises.
I’m
not
saying
do
not
play
cricket
there
(IPL),
but
the
responsibility
is
now
on
the
BCCI
to
plan
its
cricket
better.

“To
not
repeat
mistakes
we
committed
in
this
tournament
is
the
biggest
learning
for
us,”
he
added.

India
pacer
Jasprit
Bumrah
and
outgoing
bowling
coach
Bharat
Arun
had
highlighted
the
issue
of
mental
fatigue
for
players
who
have
been
on
the
road
for
close
to
six
months
since
the
IPL
began
in
April.

Both
had
said
that
a
break
was
perhaps
needed
after
the
league’s
second
leg
that
ended
on
October
15
in
the
UAE,
little
over
a
week
before
India’s
first
World
Cup
match.

Arun
also
said
that
bubble
fatigue
contributed
to
the
team’s
indifferent
performance.
India
had
lost
their
first
two
games
to
Pakistan
and
New
Zealand.

Kapil
also
said
there
should
have
been
a
gap
between
the
second
leg
of
the
IPL
and
the
T20
World
Cup.

“It’s
time
to
look
at
the
future.
You
should
start
planning
right
away.
It’s
not
that
since
the
World
Cup
is
over,
the
Indian
team’s
entire
cricket
is
also
over.
Go
and
plan,”
said
the
1983
ODI
world
Cup
winning
all-rounder.

“I
just
feel
that
there
should
have
been
some
gap
between
IPL
and
the
World
Cup.
But
this
is
certainly
there
that
our
players
today
have
a
lot
of
exposure
but
they
could
not
make
the
most
of
it.”

It
is
the
first
time
since
2012
that
India
made
an
early
exit
from
an
ICC
event
and
Kapil
said
“everyone
should
take
ownership
of
the
loss.”

“…They
(top
players)
have
done
well
in
their
careers
but
if
you
don’t
do
well,
you
will
face
criticism…
Ravi
Shastri,
Virat
Kohli
have
good
track
records
but
if
you
don’t
win
ICC
events,
it
will
hurt
them
more…,”
he
said.

India
will
take
on
Namibia
in
their
final
Super
12
match
on
Monday
(November
8)
evening.