Players like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and K.L Rahul need to decide their roles in the team: Kapil Dev

New Delhi: Legendary Kapil Dev has said that the current India players need to change their approach in the shortest format of the game and get ready for the T20 World Cup, starting in October-November in Australia.

The 1983 world cup-winning captain said that players like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and K.L Rahul need to decide whether they want to play the role of an anchor or striker.

“Reputation is quite big and maybe, the pressure is too much but that shouldn’t be the case. You have to play fearless cricket. All these players (Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and K.L Rahul) can play at a 150-160 strike rate. They are such big players, but when the time comes to score runs, they all get out.

“We say that you can take your time in the starting 8-10-12 balls, but you get out after playing 25 balls. When the time comes to take off, you get out and hence the pressure starts building on you. Either you become the anchor or the striker. That needs to be decided by the players or the team,” Kapil Dev said on the Uncut YouTube channel.

“If you talk about K.L Rahul, you need to talk to him about playing 20 overs and if he scores 80-90, then it is good enough. But if you play 20 overs, and you are coming back 60 not out then you are not doing justice to the team,” he added.

Kapil Dev said that the Indian team needs to change its approach in T20Is.

“I think the approach needs to change, if it doesn’t, then you would have to change the players. If they are big players, then they need to have a big impact on the team. You are not big just because of the name, but need to be big on performances. If you are a big name, then you should play cricket like that. Otherwise, we are here to talk about it,” he said.

India will play South Africa in a five-match T20I series under the leadership of K.L Rahul starting from June 9 in Delhi.

–IANS