One of India’s World Cup-winning captains Kapil Dev, under whom India won their first ever World Cup in 1983, is of the opinion that there is only a 30% chance of India reaching the semi-final of the ongoing T20 World Cup in Australia.
Kapil Dev was recently speaking at an event where he was asked if he thinks India will be able to end the drought of 15 years of winning a T20 World Cup. Answering to the question, Kapil said the possibility of winning the World Cup would arise if India reaches the semis first, and reaching the semis is not easy.
According to Kapil, T20 cricket is a volatile format of the game and it’s not easy to achieve consistency in this format. If you win a game today, you might lose one tomorrow and there is no guarantee that a certain team would definitely be able to make it to the semis. As far as India are concerned, there is 30% chance they will get to the semis and if they get there, then it can be discussed if they can win the World Cup or not.
Hardik Pandya is a very important player for India: Kapil Dev
Kapil Dev also insisted that India’s allrounder Hardik Pandya will be key for India because it’s always the all-rounders who balance the playing XI. Recalling the time when India had won the World Cup under him in 1983, Kapil said that India had many all-rounders in that squad as well.
Kapil Dev said, "Just 30% of chance that India can finish it in four".
— Jaya Suriyan (@jayasuriyan51) October 19, 2022
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Hardik Pandya is someone who is often compared to Kapil himself although he doesn’t play a lot of red-ball cricket. When asked about that comparison, Kapil said when he was young, he also had role models, similarly, every young player has a role model and that’s why the comparisons are made, but there is no doubt about the fact that Pandya’s role is extremely vital for the current Indian T20I team.
