Kapil Dev Says Virat Kohli's "Not Brave Enough" Statement Is Weak, Urges MS Dhoni, Ravi Shastri To Lift Team Morale

During the post-match press conference, a disappointed Virat Kohli had said that his team was not being brave enough with the bat and bowl.

New Delhi: Team India's World Cup winning skipper Kapil Dev has strongly criticized captain Virat Kohli's "not brave enough" statement after India's eight-wicket loss against New Zealand on Sunday at Dubai in Group 2 match of Super 12 in ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2021. Team India's chances of qualifying for the semifinals were seriously jeopardized post 8-wicket loss to NZ. During the post-match press conference, a disappointed Virat Kohli said that his team was not being brave enough with the bat and bowl.

"Quite bizarre. To be very honest and brutal upfront, I don't think we were brave enough with bat or ball," said Kohli. "Obviously, with the ball we did not have much to play with, but we were just not brave enough in our body language when we entered the field.

"New Zealand had better intensity and body language and created pressure on us from the first over and continued that through the innings. Every time we felt like we wanted to take a chance, we lost a wicket."

Legend Kapil Dev feels Virat Kohli's 'team not being brave enough' is a "very weak statement" and coach Ravi Shastri along with mentor MS Dhoni should lift the Indian players' morale.

Obviously, it's a very weak statement from a player as big as Virat Kohli. We all know and we believe that he has the hunger and desire to win games for the team," he told 'ABP News'.

"But, if the body language of the team and thought process of the captain is like this, it's very difficult to lift the mood of the players inside the dressing room," he added referring to Kohli's statement that his teammates were not brave enough with the bat, ball or in their body language.

"I would urge my friend Shastri and Dhoni to lift the team in this scenario, it is Dhoni's job to talk to players and give them confidence," he added.

Kapil said depending on other results is never a great situation to be in.

"If we have to go through based on somebody else's performance, then I don't like it. If you have to be in the semis, do it on your own merit. I don't think it is a good idea to place your hopes on anyone else," he said.

"...jab aap accha karte ho hum sab tareef karte hain. (But) some of the big names, the selectors will now have to take a hard look at them, whether the better performing youngsters should be considered. These big guys, if they don't make runs, they will face criticism," he said but did not take any names.

(With inputs from PTI)