The Abhishek Conundrum: Should Struggling Opener Play In The T20 World Cup Final? - Kapil Dev Has His Say

Indian former great Kapil Dev has backed the out-of-form Abhishek for the title clash against New Zealand despite him being out of form for the entire T20 World Cup campaign.

The World No.1 batter has been woefully out of form in the tournament and has scored a string of low scores, including three consecutive ducks. His highest score has been a half-century against a lesser Zimbabwe side, and he has looked more like a burden than an asset for the Indian team.

"Just believe in your team and the management should believe in the player. And Abhishek should believe in himself that 'I can perform and I will perform'. Still one game is there - the final," Kapil said on the sidelines of a golf event here.

Kapil Dev On Thrilling IND vs ENG Semi-Final

India pip England by 7 runs in a high-scoring thriller at the Wankhede Stadium. Despite posting a mammoth 253 runs on board, India were stretched to the brim by the sheer brilliance of Jacob Bethell, who single-handedly took the match till the last over, with his mesmerising 105 off just 48 balls.

He was well complemented by Will Jacks, who also blazed 35 off 20 balls. Kapil said he did not expect the match to be this close.

"I didn't think that it would become this difficult, when India score 250-plus, it was a brilliant game. Yes, India won, congratulations to them, but in the end it was cricket's win. I enjoyed it a lot, not as a bowler though," the pace great quipped.

The former World Cup-winning captain hailed Jasprit Bumrah for his magic with the ball. In a match where nearly 500 runs were scored, Bumrah just gave 33 runs in 4 overs and took the prized wicket of Jacob Bethell. He kept his composure at the death and nailed perfect Yorkers to give just 6 runs in the 18th over, which proved decisive in the context of the match.

"Bumrah is the Number one bowler in the world, he is the best. Why is he the best? Because he delivers under pressure and the way he bowls. He deserves all the respect from everybody," he said.

Kapil also showered praise on Sanju Samson, who smashed a blistering 89 off 42 balls to propel India to a huge first innings score.

"He is a brilliant cricketer, a big player can go out of target sometime, what happened to Abhishek, but if they are big, they are big and they will come back. And Sanju really played wonderful cricket in the last two games," he said, referring to his 97 in the must-win Super Eight game against the West Indies earlier in the tournament.

With PTI Inputs