Former India all-rounder and World Cup winning captain Kapil Dev didn’t seem to impressed by Virat Kohli’s comments in the post-match press conference after their loss to New Zealand. The Men in Blue suffered their second consecutive defeat in the tournament and lost the game by eight wickets. This result has now left their chances of qualification dangling by a thread and an early exit from the group stage is all but confirmed.
Speaking at the post-match presentation ceremony, Virat Kohli reflected on his team’s loss and admitted that they weren’t brave enough with either the bat or the ball. Kapil Dev, however, thinks that this is a weak statement for a player of his stature to make.
“For a big player like him, it is a very weak statement. If that is the kind of body language the team has and if that is the kind of thought process the captain has, it is really tough to lift the team. I felt a little strange hearing those words. He isn’t that kind of a player.
“He is a fighter. I think he got lost in the moment or something. A captain should not say words like, ‘We were not brave enough.’ You are playing for your country and he has passion. But when you say such words, fingers will definitely be pointed,” the Haryana Hurricane said to ABP News.
Following yet another embarrassing defeat against New Zealand in ICC tournaments, Indian captain Virat Kohli was left without answers. The Men in Blue were second to their opponents in every area of the park, a pattern that continued from the game against Pakistan. “Quite bizarre. 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,” Kohli said at the post-match presentation ceremony.
The 32-year-old, who’s giving up his captaincy duties in the shortest format of the sport, also mentioned that the side needs to disconnect before switching the focus back to Afghanistan. India take on Afghanistan on 3rd November in Abu Dhabi.
“I think we have to disconnect from that a little bit and take pride as a team. As long as individuals are looking to do that, we’re fine. There’s a lot of cricket left to play,” he concluded.
