Former India captain Kapil backs revival of team in Kohli’s absence from Asia Cup
Kapil Dev believes India can thrive without Virat Kohli and become a better side because of his absence during Asia Cup.
Kohli will take a break after the Test series in England, with Rohit Sharma set to captain India in the Asia Cup in Dubai and Abu Dhabi instead.
Many observers have claimed India have become overly reliant on their star batsman in recent times.
For example, in the Test series in England, his haul of runs is more than twice as many as the next best Indian, Cheteshwar Pujara. Kapil, who won the World Cup as India’s captain in 1983, thinks Kohli’s absence at the Asia Cup could prove telling for the development of the Indian side.
“If you depend on one player to win the championship, you are not going to win the championship,” said Kapil, who was in Dubai as a guest of Asia Cup’s broadcast partner Channel 2 and Channel 4 Radio Network.
“Yes, Virat Kohli is a very important player. The way he has played in the past seven or eight years, he has become instrumental in winning matches, but what is important is that the team play without him.
“If the best player is not there, the team can revive themselves and come to know how good they are. I would like to see how the Indian team manage without Virat Kohli. If they can do well, they will become much stronger.”
Despite outstanding performances with the bat, Kohli has come in for increasing criticism over his captaincy.
With just the final day’s play left today in The Oval Test, India look set for a 4-1 series loss.
India also lost the one-day international series that preceded that.
Kapil is hopeful there will be no knock-on effect from the UK tour, suggesting a change of pace and scenery will be just what India need.
“It is a change of format, a change of clothes, and I always think coloured clothing suits India more than the white clothing,” Kapil said.
“They haven’t had a great tour of England, but we can always hope for better. I think when they come to this part of the world they will be a different team altogether.”
India play Hong Kong in their opening match of the Asia Cup on September 18 at Dubai International Stadium.
A day later, they play the most-anticipated fixture of the group stage, against rivals Pakistan at the same ground.
“Back in the 1980s when we played [Pakistan in Sharjah] the Pakistan team was far better than us,” Kapil said.
“I think on paper today the Indian team is far bigger than Pakistan, in terms of experience, performance, everything.
“It is just a matter of how the team play as a unit.”