Kapil Dev asks India to look beyond Sachin Tendulkar
Former India captain Kapil Dev today advised Mahendra Singh Dhoni's men not to depend too much on Sachin Tendulkar and asked the youngsters to shoulder responsibility during the four-Test series against England starting in Ahmedabad tomorrow.
"Sachin will be the centre of attraction. The focus will be on him. But you can not rely only on Sachin. He is an important player, but it is the time when youngsters will have to shoulder the responsibility," Kapil said.
After receiving a 0-4 drubbing at the hands of England late last year, India is looking to exploit the home advantage to its maximum against the visitors. However, Kapil warned that the move may "backfire".
"If you are playing on a turning wicket, toss plays an important role. The team that wins the toss gets an opportunity to play on the fresh wicket. You should always prepare the wicket as per team's strength. But a rank turner might backfire," the veteran all-rounder said.
Kapil, meanwhile, said that the upcoming series would be a test for India's opening pair of Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag, who have failed to give the country a solid platform in the recent past.
"Sehwag and Gambhir are big players, they hold a lot of importance. However, they have been struggling since last 15-20 Tests and it is really terrifying that what will happen if they don't score at the top.
"Every player has a reputation and on that basis a team is selected but if they don't perform the team might have to struggle.
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