Cricket legend Kapil Dev has raised serious questions about India's tactical decision-making after the team failed to secure a victory despite enforcing the follow-on against Sri Lanka in their recent Test encounter.
A Missed Opportunity, Says the 1983 World Cup Hero
The former India captain and World Cup-winning all-rounder did not mince his words when reflecting on India's inability to press home their dominant position. Kapil Dev made it clear that when a side is strong enough to enforce the follow-on, the expectation is an outright win — nothing less.
"If you give the follow-on, you should win the match,"
Those were the pointed words from Kapil Dev, encapsulating his frustration at what he viewed as a golden opportunity squandered by the Indian side. For a team of India's calibre and experience, allowing Sri Lanka to escape without a defeat from such a position of weakness was, in his view, simply not good enough.
Follow-On Enforced But Victory Eludes India
India had put themselves in a commanding position during the Test match, dismissing Sri Lanka for a total that left the tourists well short of avoiding the follow-on. With such a substantial lead in hand, the Indian captain opted to send Sri Lanka back in immediately rather than batting again — a decision that reflected confidence in the bowling attack to finish the job.
However, Sri Lanka's batters dug deep in their second innings, frustrating the Indian bowlers and batting out enough time to deny the hosts the win they had seemed so close to claiming.
A Broader Question of Execution
Kapil Dev's criticism speaks to a broader concern about converting dominant positions into decisive results at Test level. While enforcing the follow-on itself is a bold and aggressive move, the legendary all-rounder argued that it must be backed up by the ruthlessness required to bowl out the opposition a second time.
His comments are likely to spark debate among Indian cricket fans and analysts, many of whom will be reflecting on whether the bowling attack was managed optimally across the two innings of Sri Lanka's batting.
For Sri Lanka, however, the ability to survive under such intense pressure will be viewed as a significant achievement, demonstrating the kind of batting resilience that Test cricket demands at the highest level.
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kapil is right honestly, if you enforce follow on you must close the game
even kapil dev knows india choked. our boys did well to save that match
exactly, credit to sri lanka for batting out like that under pressure