The decision to bench India captain Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli for India's second ODI against West Indies has been met with a lot of criticism especially after the manner in which the visitors were outplayed by a team which had failed to secure a place in the World Cup. In Rohit's absence, Hardik Pandya led the side but their batters disappointed and only managed to score 181 runs, a total which was comfortably chased down by the home team in 36.4 overs with six wickets in hand.
Amid all kinds of questions being asked from the team management, India's 1983 World Cup-winning skipper Kapil Dev has also expressed his views. He was not impressed with India's schedule at the 2023 ODI World Cup as it has a lot of travelling. He emphasised on the need to take care of the players who will be under high-pressure scenarious during the cricket match with eyeballs and expectations from them everywhere they travel, especially with the marquee event happening in home. It is worth highlighting that India will play their league matches at 9 venues, most by any team in the competition.
"I don't know. When you perform as good as that, it's the right board, nothing wrong. But the right board also needs to improve. If I show you the fixture I have seen today, India is playing 11 matches and the amount of travelling they have to do... who made that fixture? Now, how can I look after my team when they are playing in India?" said Kapil on The Week.
"You are going to Dharamshala, then to Bengaluru, to Kolkata... playing in nine different places. Somebody asked me, and I said, 'If I were the board president, I would have a chartered flight for my team.' I want them to give their best performance on the field. These are the things the board has to do," he added.