Kapil Dev: 'Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli alone cannot win India the World Cup'

For over 10 years now, India’s current skipper Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have been the backbone of the Men in Blue across all three formats, but World Cup-winning captain Kapil Dev believes the team management will have to make some tough decisions ahead of the 2023 ODI World Cup.

Kapil Dev stressed on the fact that Rohit and Kohli alone cannot win India the World Cup, and it is that paramount that youngsters step up in important match situations.

“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 bhadosa karenge ki wo hume World Cup jeetayenge toh aisa kabhi bhi nahi ho sakta (If you think Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and 2-3 players will win us the World Cup then that’s never going to happen). 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,” Kapil was quoted as saying by ABP News.

The transition period is already underway in the Indian team, and on the conclusion of the World Cup later this year, Rohit would be almost 37 years old, while Kohli would turn 36.

That raises the question if this will be the last World Cup for the duo, but Kapil believes fitness will be key, as well as their ability to compete for their slots against up and coming youngsters.

“The biggest positive is that the World Cup will happen in India. Nobody knows the conditions better than we do. For the last 8-10 years, Rohit and Virat have been two of the most important cricketers for India. Many have started to ask the question if this will be Virat and Rohit’s last World Cup. I believe they can play but they will need to work really hard. Fitness will play a key role.

“There are a lot of youngsters coming up, will they be able to compete with them? There is a question mark but it depends on how they want to play their game. There is no shortage of ability,” the 63-year-old continued.

“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 former Haryana cricketer further commented.

With the focus solely on ODI cricket, Rohit and Kohli have not been named in India’s T20 squad for the home series against Sri Lanka that starts on Tuesday, but will return to the national setup for the ODI series that follow.

After the completion of the three-match T20 series on 7 January, the ODI series will get underway on 10 January in Guwahati, with Rohit returning to lead the side. Hardik Pandya will captain India in the three T20Is in Rohit’s absence.

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