India will repeat 1983 World Cup history: Kapil Dev

New Delhi: Former cricket captain Kapil Dev, who led India to the maiden World Cup trophy in 1983, on Wednesday said under the captaincy of Virat Kohli, history will repeat itself in the upcoming World Cup in England. 

While speaking at the 'Britannia Khao World Cup Jao' campaign winners' felicitation ceremony, Kapil Dev said, ''The present Indian team has a great combination of youth and experience and the right balance which is necessary to win World Cup.We should have faith in them and in  my view, India will definitely feature in the top four ''. 

Asked about the teams which can make it to the semi-finals, Kapil said, ''The top three teams in the league stage will be India, England and Australia. However, there could a tough fight between New Zealand, Pakistan and South Africa for the fourth spot''. On the number four batting slot in the present Indian team, the 'Haryana Hurricane' said cricket has changed a lot in the past ten years and that no place is permanent today.  There should be a resilience in batting order depending on the situation, he added. 

Talking about the surprise packages in the World Cup,  the former captain termed New Zealand or West Indies ''surprise packages'' of this tournament. Calling Hardik Pandya an asset for the Indian team,  he asked people to refrain from putting extra pressure on the youth sensation. 

''Don't put pressure on him. He is a young player and let him play his natural game.There should be no comparisons between me and him at this point'',  Kapil said. 

Kapil also praised the ''pace attack'' comprising Bhuvi, Bumrah, Shami and Hardik, which has a lot of variety and hoped that English conditions will help them perform better. India will start their campaign against South Africa at Southampton on June 5. (UNI)