Former World Cup-winning captain Kapil Dev has advised Indian players to ignore criticism ahead of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia. He emphasized that players should stick to the basics, as the team that performs well will come out on top.
Dev warned that focusing on unnecessary details could create pressure and disrupt the players’ natural game. His comments followed India’s 0-3 loss to New Zealand in the recent Test series at home. The upcoming series is crucial for India’s chances of reaching the World Test Championship (WTC) final.
Kapil Dev shared his thoughts with reporters (via The Times of India):
“I just want to wish my team all the luck. Don’t listen much, go and express yourself. Thise who will play well win win. There is no need to take excess pressure.”
The first match of the five-Test series will start at WACA, Perth, on November 22. India won the last two Test series in Australia by 2-1 in both 2017/18 and 2020/21.
Jasprit Bumrah is expected to captain India in the Perth Test
Vice-captain Jasprit Bumrah is the frontrunner to captain India in the first Test, as regular captain Rohit Sharma may miss the opener due to paternity leave after recently welcoming a baby boy with his wife Ritika Sajdeh. The couple also has a daughter, Samaira, born in 2018.
Reports suggest that Shubman Gill is uncertain for the opener after injuring his finger during an intra-squad practice session. He was unable to field on Day 2 due to the injury.
India’s squad for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy: Rohit Sharma (c), Jasprit Bumrah (vc), Rishabh Pant (WK), Sarfaraz Khan, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Akash Deep, Prasidh Krishna, Dhruv Jurel (wk), R Ashwin, R Jadeja, Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Mohammed Siraj, Harshit Rana, and Washington Sundar.
Reserves: Navdeep Saini, Mukesh Kumar, Khaleel Ahmed.
Schedule:
November 22-26: 1st Test at Perth Stadium
December 6-10: 2nd Test at Adelaide Oval
December 14-18: 3rd Test at The Gabba in Brisbane
December 26-30: 4th or Boxing Day Test at MCG in Melbourne
January 3-7: 5th Test at SCG in Sydney
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