Former India captain Kapil Dev has expressed his confidence that the Indian cricket team will secure a victory against their longtime rivals Pakistan in the highly anticipated Asia Cup match on Sunday. The Suryakumar Yadav-led squad began their tournament with an impressive nine-wicket win over the UAE on Wednesday and is set to face the Men in Green at the Dubai International Stadium this weekend. “The Indian team will play and win the match; this is what I desire. The way they are playing, they will win,” Kapil Dev stated to reporters during an event when asked about the upcoming clash.
This marks the first time India enters a major multi-nation tournament without the experienced pair of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, who retired from T20 internationals last year. The current continental tournament is held in T20 format to prepare teams for the T20 World Cup scheduled for next year in India and Sri Lanka. Acknowledging the significant contributions of Rohit and Virat to Indian cricket, Kapil urged the younger players to step up and fill the gap left by their departures. “They played well during their time and now the next generation has to prove. There should not be talk about individuals, but the Indian team.
Representing India is much more important than who is the captain or not,” he remarked, avoiding the selection of any individual standout player from the current squad. Additionally, Kapil Dev encouraged the public to refrain from sensationalizing the situation, emphasizing that “the government will do its job, and the players should do theirs. Just go and win. Those whose job is to play should just focus on playing – there’s no need to say anything else. Don’t make this a big issue. The government will do its job, and the players should do theirs.”
