Since 2013, India have exited in the knockout stages of the ICC events as many as eight times.
New Delhi: Former India captain Kapil Dev admitted the Indian cricket team can be called as ‘Chokers’ after their T20 World Cup semifinal exit but also urged the fans to not go harsh on the players as these are the same individuals who have gotten the country laurels in the past.One of the favourites to win the title Down Under, India put up 168/6 in 20 overs against England on Thursday, thanks to fifties from Virat Kohli and Hardik Pandya. In reply, Jos Buttler and Alex Hales hammered the spineless Indian bowling attack to romp home in 16 overs without loss. “See, now that the match is over, it is unfair that we should come down this hard on the Indian team. Yes, they did not play well and criticism is justified. But as far as today’s match, all we can say is that England read the pitch better and played better cricket,” Dev, the 1983 World Cup-winning Indian captain, was quoted as saying to ABP News. “I will not dwell into the details and won’t go all out in bashing them because these are the same players who have gotten us a lot of respect in the past but yes, they are chokers. There is no denying it – after coming so close, they choke,” added the legendary all-rounder. After the 1983 World Cup, India have won three more ICC events — 2007 T20 World Cup, 2011 ODI World Cup and 2013 ICC Champions Trophy — all under Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Since then, India have entered ICC events knockout stages eight times, losing on all occasions. Dev also felt that Indian bowlers gave England the upper hand by bowling outside off stump. “India swung he ball initially but bowled outside off. And if in the first two overs, 20 runs are scored, the bowlers’ rhythm gets broken. Indian bowlers gave England room outside off and their batters took full advantage,” analysed the former great.
While Bhuvneshwar Kumar went for 25 runs in his first two overs, the likes of Ravichandran Ashwin, Hardik Pandya and Mohammad Shami conceded more that 11 runs per over. Interestingly, Arshdeep Singh, who gave away 15 runs in his opening two overs, was not allowed to complete his spell.
“All the stats and predictions we came up with have been proven wrong. England stamped their authority and put on a display of clean T20 cricket which we rarely see. Such a big win in a semifinal is rare, but full credit to England in every way,” he added.
