Champions Trophy: Kapil Dev lays emphasis on team, not individual
What's the story
Cricket legend Kapil Dev emphasized on the importance of every team member in the Indian team for the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy.
The tournament will be held in Pakistan and Dubai starting from February 19.
"Every player is important but when you have to win the championship, do not depend on one player. It depends on the team," he told the press in Kolkata.
The statement reiterates his faith in teamwork over individual performance for the final victory.
Tournament schedule
India's journey in the Champions Trophy
The much-anticipated clash between India and Pakistan will take place on February 23.
India will open their campaign with a fixture against Bangladesh on February 20 and end their league matches with a faceoff against New Zealand on March 2.
The tournament, which will feature eight teams and 15 matches, which will be hosted by Pakistan and the UAE in a hybrid model.
Notably, India will play all their matches in the UAE.
Squad changes
Bumrah ruled out, Rana to replace him
The BCCI recently confirmed that fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah will miss the tournament due to a lower back injury he picked up back in January.
Meanwhile, Harshit Rana has been named as his replacement.
The Indian squad for the ICC Champions Trophy features the likes of Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Mohd. Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Ravindra Jadeja, Varun Chakaravarthy.
Champions Trophy
India at the Champions Trophy
India have featured in the ICC tournament since the first edition in 1998.
Meanwhile, the Men In Blue have lifted the trophy twice, in 2002 (joint winners) and 2013. They own an 18-8 record, (two no results).
Additionally, the team are also two-time runners up, (2000, 2012), and were knocked out in the semi-finals in 1998.
India suffered failures in three consecutive editions including 2004, 2006, and 2009, when they did not make it to the knockout stages.