'Rohit Sharma is Good But he Must be...': Kapil Dev Gives Important Advice to India Captain

1983 World Cup-winning captain Kapil Dev heaped praise on England’s new brand of cricket – Bazball in red-ball format and advised Indian skipper Rohit Sharma to be a bit more aggressive. Under Brendon McCullum’s guidance, England have been playing an ultra-attacking brand of cricket in the Test format which has worked quite well for them thus far. They managed to draw the 2023 Ashes with the same approach but looking at an overall impact, England were superior to Australia in the iconic Test series.

The legendary India all-rounder suggested that Rohit should adopt the same approach on the field.

“Bazball is wonderful. The series between England and Australia was one of the finest series I have seen in recent times. I think cricket should be played like that. Rohit is good. But he must be more aggressive,” Kapil Dev told The Times of India.

India lost the World Test Championship Final to Australia in June as Rohit came under the scanners for his defensive captaincy.

Dev said that every team should go for results in Test cricket like England and avoid looking for draws to make the format more intresting.

“You have to think about how teams like England play now. And it’s not just us. All cricket-playing countries have to think on those lines. Winning the game should be the highest priority (not play for draws) for all teams,” he added.

Recently, former England captain Nasser Hussain suggested that India need a fast-bowling all-rounder in the Test set-up like Ben Stokes or Mitchell Marsh to get the right balance.

Dev gave his opinion on the matter and said flamboyant all-rounder Hardik Pandya should play Test cricket also as he feels his body is fit enough for the red-ball challenge.

“Doesn’t look like he will. I saw his photograph on the billboard today. I don’t know whether they did any touch-up or not, but in that, he looked like having one of the finest bodies we have in the country. Yes, he should play more cricket because he has so much ability. If he is fit, he should play Test cricket also,” he added.