New Delhi: Amid reports of a rift within the team in the tour Down Under, India’s first World Cup-winning captain Kapil Dev Wednesday urged the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to step in and sort out the problem.

There has been intense speculation of a rift within the team, particularly after the controversial rotation policy was introduced for three senior players — Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir.

Dhoni later snubbed the fielding ability of the three seniors and said they were not played together because they were “slow” fielders. But Sehwag added a fresh twist to the issue by saying that the seniors were never told that fielding was an issue. Gambhir had also taken a dig at his captain for not finishing matches early and taking it to the last over.

“The captain (Dhoni) may have a different opinion and normally his opinion is respected… I think the BCCI will have to step in and sort out the matter with the players for the good of the team and country,” Kapil said, on the sidelines of a cricket clinic for youngsters, at the Australian High Commission, here.

“I would not want to call it a rift within the team, but would prefer to term it as a difference of opinion. It’s difficult to comment on the issue because we don’t know what exactly happened there in Australia,” Kapil said.

Asked further how a senior player like Sehwag could not have been told about the reason for the rotation policy among the openers, Kapil said: “Even parents have different opinions… So should not play it up. If there is a misunderstanding, it should be sorted out… They are playing for the country,” he added.

Kapil also said that in his opinion, Sachin Tendulkar should have retired from one-day cricket on a high after India won the World Cup last year, but added that it was up to The Master to take a decision on the matter.

“I am nobody to say when Sachin Tendulkar would retire… But in my opinion, he should have quit ODIs on a high after India won the World Cup... But that’s my opinion. It’s up to him to decide,” he said.

“He (Tendulkar) enjoys playing cricket and has achieved so much for the team and for the country. What more can we expect from the little man? But if I was in his place, I would have said (after India won the World Cup), ‘I have achieved so much in cricket for the team and for the country and it’s now time for some other player to come in,” he said.

And while the Board has ruled out an inquiry on the Indian team’s Test debacle in Australia, Kapil said that the BCCI and the selectors would have to find out what went wrong with the team.

“We should now encourage the players to play like world champions, play tight and win matches. They are the world champions… But after they return from Australia, the BCCI and the selectors should sit and find out what went wrong with the team,” he said.

Asked if some of the senior players should be dropped from Test side after the Australian tour, Kapil said that it was for the selectors to take a call on this.“It is for the selectors to decide... I think the right thing would be if the BCCI and the selectors sit down after the Australian tour and decide on a future road map.”