‘They are playing 10 months in a year’ – Kapil Dev unhappy with Indian cricketers for not getting their priorities sorted

With the two major events Asia Cup 2023 and ODI World Cup 2023 on the cards, the Indian cricket team didn’t have a great start to their preparations for the events. They were brilliant in the ODI series against Sri Lanka and New Zealand but had to suffer a 1-2 loss at home against Australia earlier this year. They then got busy playing in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 and now are on a tour of the West Indies. 

They are currently playing a 3-match ODI series against the Windies and trying new combinations for the team. However, many fans and former cricketers are not happy with the management for experimenting at this crucial stage ahead of the 2 major events. Former legendary India captain Kapil Dev has also expressed his disappointment and blamed IPL for the multiple players’ injury woes.

“God is kind, it’s not as if I never got injured. But today, they are playing 10 months in a year. Give a benefit of doubt to that, but everybody has to look after themselves. IPL is a great thing but IPL can spoil you also. Because of a few injuries and you will play in IPL. A little bit of injuries, you won’t play for India. You would take a break. I’m being very open about it,” Dev was quoted as saying by Zee News.

Rohit and Kohli were rested for the 2nd ODI

Due to multiple experiments, the Men in Blue lost the 2nd ODI by 6 wickets against the Caribbean side. They were also struggling to win the 1st match after Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli sacrificed their batting position and promoted the other batters to finish the match but the inexperience was clearly visible.

The management rested Kohli and Rohit for the next match and guess what, India were humiliated with a 6-wicket loss. No other batters except Ishan Kishan could do anything against West Indies. The 3rd and final ODI between India and Windies will be the last chance for them to experiment as the Asia Cup is set to be played from August 30.