Kapil says Kohli's "not brave enough" statement is weak; urges Dhoni, Shastri to lift team morale
New Delhi, Nov 1: The legendary Kapil Dev feels Virat Kohli's admission of his team not being brave enough in the T20 World Cup loss to New Zealand is a "very weak statement" and head coach Ravi Shastri along with mentor Mahendra Singh Dhoni should step up to lift the players' morale.
India lost by eight wickets to the Black Caps in Dubai on Sunday night, severely jeopardising their chances of making the semifinals. The 62-year-old former captain said the big names will have to take responsibility for what is transpiring in the UAE.
"Obviously, it's a very weak statement from a player as big as Virat Kohli. We all know and we believe that he has the hunger and desire to win games for the team," he told 'ABP News'.
"But, if the body language of the team and thought process of the captain is like this, it's very difficult to lift the mood of the players inside the dressing room," he added referring to Kohli's statement that his teammates were not brave enough with the bat, ball or in their body language.
"I would urge my friend Shastri and Dhoni to lift the team in this scenario, it is Dhoni's job to talk to players and give them confidence," he added.
India now need to win big in all their remaining three group stage matches and hope for Afghanistan to upstage New Zealand for any chance of qualification.
Kapil said depending on other results is never a great situation to be in.
"If we have to go through based on somebody else's performance, then I don't like it. If you have to be in the semis, do it on your own merit. I don't think it is a good idea to place your hopes on anyone else," he said.
"...jab aap accha karte ho hum sab tareef karte hain. (But) some of the big names, the selectors will now have to take a hard look at them, whether the better performing youngsters should be considered. These big guys, if they don't make runs, they will face criticism," he said but did not take any names.
Winless so far, India will take on Afghanistan in their third group engagement on Wednesday.
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Killing of Khamenei cynical violation of human morality, international law: Putin
Moscow (PTI): The killing of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was a cynical violation of all norms of human morality and international law, Russian President Vladimir Putin declared in his message to his Tehranian counterpart, the Kremlin said Sunday.
Khamenei was killed in an airstrike in Tehran on Saturday during a joint Israel-US attack on Iran.
“Please accept my deepest condolences in connection with the assassination of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Seyyed Ali Khamenei, and members of his family, committed in a cynical violation of all norms of human morality and international law,” Putin said in his condolence message.
Putin's condolence message to Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian was published on the Kremlin portal.
Earlier on Saturday, Russia condemned the US-Israeli joint strikes on Iran qualifying it as an “unprovoked” aggression against a sovereign state in violation of international law and called for immediate return to diplomacy.
The Russian Foreign Ministry also described the US and Israeli forces' strikes against the Iranian territory as “a pre-planned” act of aggression against an independent UN member state.
Putin also conducted an emergency meeting of the National Security Council online on Saturday to discuss the emerging situation following the US-Israeli strikes and Iran’s retaliation.
Meanwhile, according to reports more than 2,00,000 Russians are stuck in the region due to closure of their airspaces by Iran and Gulf countries.
The situation in the Middle East and the airport closures have affected not only organised tourists from Russia registered with tour operators, but also those travelling on business trips and independently, state-run TASS news agency reported.
“Approximately 2,00,000 people are unable to leave the UAE or return from vacations in the Maldives and other countries,” Alexey Volkov, president of the National Union of Hospitality Industry, told TASS.
UAE and its airports have become a main hub of access to Russia since the Ukraine conflict and closure of EU air space for civilian air traffic under sanction on Moscow.
“The situation remains complex and unpredictable: drone and missile strikes have hit key tourist locations in the UAE, including its most famous hotels.
“And then there are those who aren't counted as tourists at all, but are travelling around the world for business—the Middle East, for example, is currently a major business hub, home to a significant amount of Russian capital, investment, and business,” Volkov said.
