"You Can Call Them 'Chokers' If You Want": Kapil Dev On India's Repeated World Cup Failures
Kapil Dev admitted that the team can be branded 'chokers' for their failure to go the distance in the T20 World Cup in Australia
The Indian cricket team's elimination from the T20 World Cup 2022 came at the semi-final stage. While reaching this far in a tournament of the stature of a World Cup is a respectful achievement but the manner of India's exit has given birth to a plethora of questions among fans and experts. Some are even branding the Indian team 'chokers' for their repeated failures to win ICC titles. Even former India captain Kapil Dev, who had helped the country won its first-ever World Cup in 1983, admitted that the team can be branded 'chokers' for their failure to go the distance in the T20 World Cup in Australia.
While Kapil admitted that there isn't much wrong in putting the 'chokers' label on the Indian team, he also said that this is not the time to be too harsh as these are the same players who have brought laurels to the country with their performances over the years.
"Yes, we can call them chokers. That's okay. They come close and then choke.", Kapil told in a show on ABP News.
He also urged people to not come down too heavily on the Indian team after this defeat.
"But don't be too harsh. I agree, India played bad cricket, but we cannot be overly critical based on just one game," he said.
Speaking of India's defeat to England, Kapil said that England, on the day, assessed the conditions better and outplayed the Indian team.
A number of Indian players underperformed in the T20 World Cup. The likes of KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma, Dinesh Karthik, Mohammed Shami, Rishabh Pant, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ravichandran Ashwin and Axar Patel, all struggled to play up to their potential as India were eliminated from the tournament in the semi-final stage once again.
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