'You believe that the superstars can do it': Brian Lara WARNS Rahul Dravid ahead of T20 World Cup

Brian Lara emphasized the necessity for India's head coach, Rahul Dravid, to devise a tailored strategy to optimize the performance of stalwarts Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma in the upcoming T20 World Cup in the Americas next month. With the squad featuring as many as eight players from the 2022 ICC event, India remains committed to leveraging the unparalleled experience offered by Kohli and Rohit.

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Brian Lara warns Rahul Dravid

"Sometimes when you have a team with a lot of superstars, you forget the plan and you believe that the superstars can do it. They just have to turn up. Sometimes you may feel, as a coach, intimidated, telling Sir Vivian Richards or Virat Kohli, you know exactly what you expect of them," Brian Lara told PTI.

When questioned about the makeup of the India squad, Lara drew parallels to the highly seasoned West Indies team during the 1987 ODI World Cup. Despite being led by Sir Vivian Richards, the West Indies side, laden with experience, fell short of reaching the semifinals.

"First of all, in terms of the players that were selected in the squad, let me start by saying that that's a dilemma that a lot of countries have faced in the past. The West Indies in 1988 (1987 actually) is one example," he said.

"Obviously when you have such great players, you want to stick to that experience because you feel that they can do it and there's nothing wrong with it," he said referring to Kohli and Rohit.

"You've got a lot of exciting young players coming out and you also have that sort of conundrum. India have gone with a team that has experience. My advice, and it's not my criticism, it's my advice, to Rahul Dravid is to make sure and have a plan," Lara stated.

"The team is capable of winning the World Cup. Yes, it's a team that have maybe a couple of youngsters missing because of the situation. But I still believe that if they plan properly. India could win the World Cup," Lara said. 

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The T20 World Cup 2024 is scheduled to take place in the USA and West Indies from June 2 to 29. India will play their opening game against Ireland on June 5. 

(With PTI inputs)