The legendary Indian all-rounder, Kapil Dev has criticized Virat Kohli and his men following their 10-wicket loss against New Zealand in the Test series opener at the Basin Reserve in Wellington. The Indian batting line-up, which boasts of players like Virat Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane, failed in both the innings and the Indian skipper acknowledged their downfall against the Black Caps.

Talking to ABP News, Kapil said, “We have to praise New Zealand, they are playing very good cricket. If we analyse this match critically, well, I do not understand how one can make so many changes. There is a new team in almost every match. No one in the team is permanent, if there is no security over your place, it will affect the form of the players.”

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He further added, “Such big names in the batting order, if you cannot score even 200 runs in 2 innings, you have not been able to conquer conditions. You have to focus more on planning and strategy.”

New Zealand was completely whitewashed in the five-match T20I series. However, they made a strong comeback and went on to win the three-match ODI series and have now won the first Test in the two-match Test series and have taken an unassailable 1-0 lead.

Kapil was also surprised at the non-inclusion of KL Rahul — who was the Player of the Series in T20Is — in the Test squad.

The former Indian skipper said, “There is a lot of difference between when we played and what is happening now. When you build a team, you have to give confidence to players. When there are so many changes made, it does not make sense. Rahul is in great form, he is sitting out, it does not make sense. I believe when a player is in form, he needs to play.”

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Team India will now aim to level the series when they will be locking horns with New Zealand in the second and final Test beginning Saturday at the Hagley Oval in Christchurch.