London: Former India captain Kapil Dev on Wednesday said the current team does not have the 1983 World Cup winning squad ahead of the June-July tournament in England. “They don’t have us, that’s the difference,” ESPNcricinfo quoted Kapil, who was at an event with some members of the 1983 squad including Kris Srikkanth, Syed Kirmani, and Roger Binny.
There have been a lot of discussions about the number four in India’s World Cup squad. However, the former captain believes the concept of batting positions does not apply in modern day cricket. “I don’t think anybody these days has numbers (fixed positions in the line-up) — the need of the hour is more important. You can send MS Dhoni, or anybody. Number one to seven are all good enough to play there. One shouldn’t get confused. Play like you want to win the match and don’t go by the number. It should depend on the situation of the match,” said Kapil.
When asked whether Rishabh Pant can earn the number four spot, the 1983 World Cup winning captain said the upcoming wicket-keeper batsmen have a lot to prove as Dhoni has set the standards extremely high. “Dhoni has set the standard so high. They (other wicketkeeper-batsmen) have the ability and talent. Only the execution over a period of time is needed and it won’t happen overnight. Yes, they’ve done a couple of good performances but the standard is really high in today’s team. They have a long way to go,” he said.
On being asked about the importance of all-rounders in the team, Kapil said Dhoni is on top of his list of all-rounders. “Is a batsman-bowler the only all-rounder? You can now say even a wicketkeeper is an all-rounder. The meaning of all-rounder is changed. It’s not just about a batsman who makes runs and takes wickets. Wicket-keeper should also be on this list. That way, Dhoni comes in very high. If you’re good in two departments – any two departments – everyone will come under that if you include fielding,” said the former captain.