The former India batsman claims that under Virat Kohli, the Indian team just picks players who are in form and players are not certain of their place. Kaif added that it is the way Kohli operates and we need to accept that fact.
2021 is the year of the T20 World Cup. The showpiece event of the shortest format returns for the men’s edition for the first time since 2016.
India has just three T20Is scheduled before the T20 World Cup, scheduled to take place in the UAE and Oman later in October-November this year. The three T20Is are against Sri Lanka later this month.
However, most of the first-choice players won’t be a part of the series as the Test cricketers are in the United Kingdom for the five-match Test series against England which starts on the 4th of August. Shikhar Dhawan has been named as the captain of the ODI and T20I side that has flown to Sri Lanka. Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Hardik Pandya are the other two Indian white-ball regulars that are in the squad to face Sri Lanka.
Under Virat Kohli, India will not get T20 international matches before the T20 World Cup as the second half of the IPL is scheduled to finish only a few days before the start of the global tournament.
Thus, the question came up, does India know who their best 15 players are for the T20 World Cup? The opening slot is a bit of a merry-go-round at the moment while the spin attack looks a touch wobbly as well with the lack of form of Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav.
Mohammad Kaif was asked this question if the Indian team is certain who the best 15 for the T20 World Cup are, and he said that the current Indian side lacks clarity. He said that under Kohli, the Indian team goes with the in-form players, and that’s how they operate, and that fact needs to be accepted.
“This Indian team does not have the clarity. As commentators, we also talk about that there should be clarity but this Indian team doesn’t play that way. You have to accept it that it is not how (Virat) Kohli operates.
Kohli believes that whoever is in form, you include him in the playing XI. That is Kohli’s way. At the end of the day, you need to judge Kohli as a captain on the trophies he wins and so far, he has been unsuccessful when we talk about ICC trophies,”
Kaif was quoted saying in an exclusive interview with Sports Tak.
Besides this, he feels the coaches and team management also have a similar approach. Kaif added that no player is certain about his place in the side and the particular player knows well too that they need to perform consistently.
“The coaches and the team management have also been on the same boat. This Indian team doesn’t believe in past performances. What you are doing at the moment and your current form matters.
That’s the reason why Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan played for India while Shikhar Dhawan was dropped and Rohit Sharma was also given a break. No player is certain of their place in this team and the players know that as well”
Kaif further added.
An ICC Trophy has eluded the Indian side since the start of 2014. They have constantly made it to the knockout stages of each ICC event since the start of the year 2014, but they haven’t won a single tournament. They will have another chance as they look to win their second T20 World Cup later this year.
