T20 World Cup: Kapil Dev feels India have ‘just 30 per cent chance of India making it to top four’ – Firstcricket News, Firstpost

Kapil Dev made an audacious statement on India’s chances of reaching the semi-finals of the ongoing T20 World Cup in Australia. Kapil Dev said that the chances of India making it to the top four is only 30 percent.

India is yet to start their campaign at the T20 World Cup. They will play their first match against Pakistan on 23 October, Sunday. Besides the arch-rivals, they will play South Africa, Bangladesh, and two other qualifying teams from Round 1.

“In T20 cricket, the team winning a match can lose the next… It’s very difficult to talk about the chances of India winning the World Cup. The issue is can they make it to the top four? And I am concerned about their making it to the top four. Only then anything can be said. For me, it’s just 30 percent chance of India making it to the top (last) four,” Kapil Dev said on Tuesday at the sidelines of a promotional event in Lucknow.

The former Indian captain also spoke highly about the importance of all-rounders and praised Hardik Pandya.

“What more do you want in the side other than having all-rounders who could win matches for a side not only in the World Cup but in all other matches or events? A cricketer like Hardik Pandya has been quite useful for India.

“All-rounders are the key players of any side, and they become the strength of a team. An all-rounder like Hardik gives Rohit Sharma the liberty to make use of the sixth bowler in a match. He is a good batter, bowler, and fielder too. Ravindra Jadeja is also a perfect all-rounder for India.

“Even in our days, we had plenty of all-rounders in the India team.”

Kapil Dev was also asked for his views on Hardik Pandya being dubbed as another Kapil Dev. He smartly answered the question. “In our days too, we had idols, we used to follow them. It’s good that new benchmarks are being set by young cricketers. It’s a very good sign for a team and I believe that everyone should keep working hard to set much higher benchmarks.”

Although he didn’t sound confident of India going the distance at the T20 World Cup, he praised the Indian batting order. The former all-rounder said that no one spoke about Suryakumar Yadav a year ago.

“In fact, no one ever thought about Yadav being an impact player in the future, but he did great with his batting and forced the world to talk about him. Now, we can’t think about India without him.

“Having a batter like Suryakumar in the team in the company of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul, a team automatically becomes strong.”

Kapil Dev recently commented about depression and pressure in cricket, which sparked controversies on social media. However, he stuck to his stand when quizzed about it.

Read: Kapil Dev’s ‘don’t play’ advice for cricketers isn’t too far from the truth

“There is no word like pressure and there is no scope of being under pressure in cricket. One should play cricket for enjoyment and fun and not find himself under pressure,” Kapil Dev said. “One should enjoy his passion like actors, singers, painters, etc. When a kid is born, he gets to play bat and ball, football, or tennis ball, you don’t give him a pencil or a pen. So take sports as fun, not as pressure.”

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