'I mean that’s not representing your country and...' - Kapil Dev makes big 'Don't Play IPL" statement, video goes viral after Ishan Kishan withdrew from Test series against SA

The young India wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan was in the headlines of both social and mainstream media after he pulled out of the upcoming two-match Test series against South Africa. The media reports learned that Kishan opted out of the upcoming Test assignment against Proteas due to ‘personal reasons.’

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Furthermore, some other reports understood that it was mental fatigue and burnout due to which the Jharkhand wicketkeeper-batter withdrew his name from the Test squad of India.

Meanwhile, the former legendary Indian skipper and one of the great all-rounders of his time, Kapil Dev didn’t look happy with this kind of approach from the modern-day cricketers.

"You can take a break during the IPL." - Kapil Dev on breaks on the grounds of mental fatigue

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A video went viral on social media in which Kapil Dev can be heard suggesting players quit IPL to keep themselves fresh and away from the mental fatigue of representing their country when it is required. 

“If you think there is burnout then don’t play IPL. I mean that’s not representing your country. If you think you are burned out then you can take a break during the IPL,” said Kapil Dev in the viral video, which seems to be from an event of an online education platform.

“IPL gives you exposure. And I don’t want to see anybody’s pocket (suffer), what they are making and all. I think when you represent your country, it should be a different feeling. It can’t be that you have more feeling for club cricket and not for the country,” he added later.

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Notably, South Africa and India are set to take on each other in the first Test of the two-match Test series, starting on Tuesday, December 26. Both teams will play this match at the SuperSport Park in Centurion.

Here’s a look at the squad of India for the two-match Test series against South Africa:

Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Abhimanyu Easwaran, KL Rahul (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Mohd. Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Prasidh Krishna, KS Bharat (wk)