'What can we say if players prioritize IPL over playing for country' - Kapil Dev as India exits T20 World Cup 2021

Former India all-rounder and World Cup-winning captain Kapil Dev reckons that the BCCI and Indian team must immediately start plotting their plans for the upcoming T20 World Cup, scheduled to be played in Australia next year.

His comments come after India were officially knocked out of the ongoing multi-team event, which is the first occasion since 2012 when the team has taken an exit in the league stage of an ICC tournament.

“It’s time to look at the future. You should start planning right away. It’s not that since the World Cup is over, the Indian team’s entire cricket is too. Go and plan. I just feel that there should have been some gap between IPL and the World Cup. But this is certainly there that our players today have a lot of exposure but they could not make the most of it,” Kapil said on ABP News.

Kapil Dev went on to reckon that the players must learn to differentiate and prioritize between international cricket and the Indian Premier League, while he also held the BCCI accountable to ensure that the national team is in no way second in the priority list.

“When players prioritise IPL over playing for the country, what can we say. Players should take pride in playing for their nation. I don’t know their financial conditions so can’t say much. But I feel that first in line should be the country’s team and then franchises,” he said.

He clarified that he is not against the idea of playing franchise-based cricket leagues, but it should always be country first for the players. “I’m not saying do not play cricket there (for the franchise), but the responsibility is now on the BCCI to plan its cricket better. To not repeat mistakes we committed in this tournament is the biggest learning for us.”

India will play their last Super12 fixture on November 8 against Namibia in what will be a dead-rubber. The game will also mark the end of Ravi Shastri’s tenure as the head coach of the Indian team, while it is also slated to be the last fixture for Virat Kohli as the team’s T20I skipper.