Indian legend Kapil Dev accused the country’s cricket players of prioritising the cash-rich Indian Premier League (IPL) over national duty after the pre-tournament favourites were dumped out of the T20 World Cup.
“When the players prefer to play IPL over playing for the country, what can we say? I believe that every player should feel proud playing for their country,” Dev, who led India to a World Cup victory in 1983, told Indian television channel ABP News.
“I believe that your national team should come first and after that [a] franchise or any other team,” he said.
India on Sunday crashed out of the Twenty20 World Cup after New Zealand beat Afghanistan to book the second semi-final berth from Group 2.
Virat Kohli’s side, which went into the tournament as one of the favourites, thrashed Afghanistan and Scotland but it was too late after losing heavily to arch-rival Pakistan and to New Zealand.
In the build-up, Indian regrouped just two days after the IPL ended on October 15 in Dubai, adding to the time that the players spent in draining Covid-19 bubble conditions.
“I am not saying don’t play cricket there [for franchises], but it is now [the] BCCI’s (Board of Control for Cricket in India) responsibility to plan their cricket [schedule] better for the future,” 62-year-old Dev said of the Indian cricket board.—AFP
