"WAGS of cricketers should..."- Kapil Dev Slams Indian Team

Former India captain Kapil Dev said that it is not a bad idea to have the wives and girlfriends (WAGS) of Indian cricketers on their tour of various nations. However, he was especially critical of the duration for which WAGS should be allowed to stay with the players. 

"Taking your wives on tours is not wrong, but I feel that if the tour is one month, they should not be allowed for the first 20 days so that the players can play together as a team,” he said during an interaction with YouTube channel Cricket Adda. 

“Similarly, for a three-month campaign, at least for a month, players should be left alone with the team. Also, teams should travel together. This is not an individual sport,” he further added, taking a jab at individual players departing alone and then rejoining another set of players ahead of the Indian cricket team’s tour Down Under. 

The matter of WAGS was raised after India were beaten 1-3 in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25 and failed to qualify for the World Test Championship (WTC) final for the first time in history.

Kapil was also not happy with star Indian players Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli turning up for the Ranji Trophy after a long gap, saying that had they scored well in Australia, they might not have played again. 

“Whether they score runs or not, you have to score runs in domestic cricket. Strong measures have to be taken. But my point is, had we won or had Rohit or Kohli scored runs, would they have played the Ranji Trophy? Don't look at the performances, make the system strong. Whether you score zero or lakhs of runs, play cricket by staying within the system," he said.