After Shikhar Dhawan Injury, Kapil Dev Says Leave Choice Of Opener To Selectors

World Cup-winning former India skipper Kapil Dev says that the vexed question of a replacement opener in place of Shikhar Dhawan should be left to the national selectors. Shikhar Dhawan suffered a thumb fracture while batting against Australia in the World Cup 2019 league match at the Kennington Oval on Sunday and will be out of action for three weeks. There is a lot of conjectures about who would open in his place, but Kapil Dev told NDTV that the selectors should do the job.

"Leave it to the selectors to decide on opening slot," Kapil Dev told NDTV in an exclusive interview.

"We should respect the team management and the captain and I have faith in the team management," he added.

Asked about the prospects of teams and who would make it to the semi-finals, the 1983 World Cup-winning captain was noncommittal.

"(It is) difficult to predict the semi-finalists," he said. "I would like to say good luck to the Indian team."

Speaking on former Australian captain Steve Waugh's comment that Hardik Pandya can dominate the 2019 World Cup like South African Lance Klusener dominated the 1999 World Cup, Kapil Dev said, "I wish him (Pandya) good luck.

"The team more important than individuals," he however went on to add.

On the influx of fantasy games, Kapil Dev said, "I get beaten in fantasy cricket games. Young people making the game famous."

Topics mentioned in this article

India Cricket Team Shikhar Dhawan Kapil Dev World Cup 2019 Cricket