ICC World Cup 2019: “It’s very unfair to criticise Dhoni”: Kapil Dev

As soon as India have been coming close to the final of ICC World Cup, former India captain MS Dhoni’s retirement topic also has been raised by many. However, former India captain Kapil Dev backed MS Dhoni as the wicketkeeper-batsman has been receiving a lot of criticism because of his poor batting strike-rate during the ongoing ICC World Cup. However, Dhoni has managed to score 223 runs so far which came at an average of 44.6 with a strike-rate of 93.3 including one fifty.

“It’s very unfair to criticise Dhoni. It has happened to those who have been rated as all-time greats. They are not going to be 20 all over again,” Kapil Dev was quoted as saying by the Times of India.

“The most important thing is Dhoni is doing good as far as the team is concerned. He may not be meeting the expectations of the public. The biggest problem is we expect so much from our heroes. He is doing a fabulous job for the team and an integral member of the thinktank,” the former World Cup-winning captain added.

Kapil Dev feels India need the calming influence of Dhoni along with the aggressiveness of captain Virat Kohli.

“With an aggressive Virat (Kohli) as a captain, it’s ideal to have someone with a calming effect like him. His wicketkeeping is good, and as I said, he can’t be as good as he was when he was 20 or 23,” he said.

Kapil Dev, who led India to their first World Cup title in 1983, said that he was impressed by India’s performance in the tournament.

“I feel proud of our team. Things have changed a lot in the last few years and we are a major force in world cricket. It’s great to see a team which is athletic and doing well on the field,” he told.

“They (the ICC) should consider increasing the number of DRS reviews, especially for the knockouts. Why not two or three? Let it take five more minutes. Having just one DRS review for an important knockout stage is not fair. One run or a wicket can change the game,” Kapil further added.

Kapil Dev is also impressed with India’s fast bowlers as they have been doing wonders.

“Not just (Jasprit) Bumrah, (Mohammad) Shami has been excellent throughout the World Cup. A few years ago, no one expected Bumrah to reach this level. With a 10-yard run-up, it’s not easy to clock 145kmph regularly. You need a lot of ability to generate speed. This guy is incredible,” he concluded.

“As we all know, he is different from Dhoni and very aggressive. Every captain is unique. He has done extremely well in the World Cup,” Kapil Dev said while speaking about Kohli’s captaincy.​