‘Pakistan se nahi haarna’: Kapil Dev on pressure around Ind vs Pak matches

“What is pressure? Pressure doesn’t come when you’re facing the ball. It starts building up when your waiter gives you coffee and says, “Pakistan se nahi haarna (don’t lose to Pakistan)”. So that’s how the build-up takes place,” Kapil Dev told The Week.

The remarks by the former Indian skipper came as the Indian players went through severe trolling in the past when they made mistakes while playing against Pakistan.

When asked about his favorite to win the ICC World Cup 2023, Kapil Dev said his heart says India has a chance, but the team has to go a long way for that. Kapil Dev mentioned the importance of everything for winning the World Cup like luck, no injuries, and better performance as a team. He said that the first aim should be to make it to the top four.

On India’s recent performances, Kapil Dev said that the Indian team has confidence but sometimes it works negatively as “they think they know everything. They think they don’t have to seek advice from anyone.”

Cricket veterans question Team India’s decisions

Kapil Dev is not the first veteran to question the decisions taken by cricket management in India and Sunil Gavaskar is giving the Rohit Sharma-led team some earful for a while now. In the recent India vs West Indies series also, Sunil Gavaskar questioned the relevance of including senior players like Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli against a relatively weak West Indies.

Notably, India lost its second ODI to West Indies when Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli stayed out of the playing XI, and Hardik Pandya took over the command of the team.

Updated: 31 Jul 2023, 04:56 PM IST