Former India captain Kapil Dev has advised Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s men not to depend too much on Sachin Tendulkar and asked the youngsters to shoulder responsibility during the four-Test series against England starting in Ahmedabad on Thursday.
‘Sachin will be the centre of attraction. The focus will be on him. But you can not rely only on Sachin. He is an important player, but it is the time when youngsters will have to shoulder the responsibility,’ Dev told in an exclusive interview to PTI.
After receiving a 0-4 drubbing at the hands of England late last year, India is looking to exploit the home advantage to its maximum against the visitors. However, Dev warned that the move may ‘backfire’. ‘If you are playing on a turning wicket, toss plays an important role. The team that wins the toss gets an opportunity to play on the fresh wicket. You should always prepare the wicket as per the team’s strength. But a rank turner might backfire,’ the veteran all-rounder said.
Kapil, meanwhile, said that the upcoming series would be a test for India’s opening pair of Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag, who have failed to give the country a solid platform in the recent past. ‘Sehwag and Gambhir are big players, they hold a lot of importance. However, they have been struggling since the last 15 to 20 Tests and it is really terrifying that what will happen if they don’t score at the top.
‘Every player has a reputation and on that basis a team is selected but if they don’t perform the team might have to struggle. Our opening is weak. If we get a good beginning, we can dominate England,’ he said.
The 53-year-old all rounder, who will start a fresh innings as a Hindi commentator for broadcasters Star Cricket during the series, added that it would be a tough task for the hosts to win the series with a big margin. ‘The situation is tough. We don’t have strong bowling. If we win the series by clinching one or two Tests it will be a great achievement,’ he said. ‘Zaheer Khan is not in great form. Harbhajan [Singh] is also not performing well. In such circumstances if we win the series it will be a great thing,’ he added.
India has picked off-spinner Harbhajan Singh and Ravichandran Ashwin in the team along side left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha.
Asked whether the team lacks variety in their attack, Dev said: ‘If you have two good off spinners, what is the problem in playing both of them. ‘If you have two Tendulkars won’t you play them?’ he asked.
‘Sachin will be the centre of attraction. The focus will be on him. But you can not rely only on Sachin. He is an important player, but it is the time when youngsters will have to shoulder the responsibility,’ Dev told in an exclusive interview to PTI.
After receiving a 0-4 drubbing at the hands of England late last year, India is looking to exploit the home advantage to its maximum against the visitors. However, Dev warned that the move may ‘backfire’. ‘If you are playing on a turning wicket, toss plays an important role. The team that wins the toss gets an opportunity to play on the fresh wicket. You should always prepare the wicket as per the team’s strength. But a rank turner might backfire,’ the veteran all-rounder said.
Kapil, meanwhile, said that the upcoming series would be a test for India’s opening pair of Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag, who have failed to give the country a solid platform in the recent past. ‘Sehwag and Gambhir are big players, they hold a lot of importance. However, they have been struggling since the last 15 to 20 Tests and it is really terrifying that what will happen if they don’t score at the top.
‘Every player has a reputation and on that basis a team is selected but if they don’t perform the team might have to struggle. Our opening is weak. If we get a good beginning, we can dominate England,’ he said.
The 53-year-old all rounder, who will start a fresh innings as a Hindi commentator for broadcasters Star Cricket during the series, added that it would be a tough task for the hosts to win the series with a big margin. ‘The situation is tough. We don’t have strong bowling. If we win the series by clinching one or two Tests it will be a great achievement,’ he said. ‘Zaheer Khan is not in great form. Harbhajan [Singh] is also not performing well. In such circumstances if we win the series it will be a great thing,’ he added.
India has picked off-spinner Harbhajan Singh and Ravichandran Ashwin in the team along side left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha.
Asked whether the team lacks variety in their attack, Dev said: ‘If you have two good off spinners, what is the problem in playing both of them. ‘If you have two Tendulkars won’t you play them?’ he asked.