T20 World Cup LIVE- Virat Kohli India captain’s statement after Men in Blue’s back-to-back losses have had a drubbing effect on former India stars. “We weren’t brave enough when we entered the field,” were Kohli’s words after loss to New Zealand that has left cricket fraternity in shock. The likes of Virat Kohli, Kapil Dev, VVS Laxman, Sunil Gavaskar and Gautam Gambhir have come with strong statements, showed their dissent over Kohli. Follow T20 World Cup live updates on Insidesport.in
Now, the former India champion players say they have lost love for Virat Kohli who has changed his stance from brave to victim.
T20 World Cup LIVE: Love lost for Virat Kohli, Kapil Dev, Laxman, Sunil Gavaskar, Gautam Gambhir lose faith as Kohli goes timid from a brave captain
Kapil Dev
India’s first World Cup-winning captain Kapil Dev was not impressed with Kohli’s statement. He felt that Kohli should not give such weak statements.
“For a big player like him, it is a very weak statement. If that is the kind of body language the team has and if that is the kind of thought process the captain has, it is really tough to lift the team. I felt a little strange hearing those words. He isn’t that kind of a player,” Kapil told ABP News.
“He is a fighter. I think he got lost in the moment or something. A captain should not say words like ‘we were not brave enough. You are playing for your country and he has passion. But when you say such words, fingers will definitely be pointed,” he added.
Gautam Gambhir was disgusted with India’s loss and lashed out at Team India. He said that Kohli & Co have the skills but lacks mental toughness to win knockout matches in ICC tournaments.
“Talent is one thing; you’ve got all the skills and do really well in bilaterals and stuff. But when it comes to these kinds of games and tournaments, this is when you have got to stand up and perform,” said Gautam Gambhir on ESPNCricinfo.
”This game was literally like a quarterfinal. The problem is with the mental toughness of the side. Suddenly when you know you have got to win the game and can’t make mistakes, in bilaterals it’s different because you can make mistakes there. But in these kinds of games, I don’t think India has got that mental strength,” Gautam Gambhir added.
Sunil Gavaskar
Cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar said that at times players should listen to outside world in order to get an outside perspective of what is going wrong.
“This outside world is not sound-proof. Somebody or the other is going to be saying something or the other, which you are going to hear. So to say that you are chucking out the outside noise is easy because what t tell is we don’t care about the outside world, which is fair enough. It’s understandable because the team doesn’t want to be influenced by what has happened,”Sunil Gavaskar told Aaj Tak.
“But sometimes an outside perspective does help. An outside perspective which you can consider. Maybe, there is some sense in what the outside perspective is and maybe at that particular point of time, you get into a cocoon,” Sunil Gavaskar added.
T20 World Cup LIVE: Love lost for Virat Kohli, Kapil Dev, Sunil Gavaskar, Gautam Gambhir lose faith as Kohli goes timid from a brave captain
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