Today’s all-rounders are far better than those of the previous era. So feels India’s greatest all-rounder, Kapil Dev.
The former India captain, who was fondly nicknamed ‘The Haryana Hurricane’, believes that one should not jump to conclusions after watching a player in just a couple of series.
Speaking at the inauguration of the 2nd Krishapatnam Port Golden Eagles Golf Championship, Kapil remarked, “I think, people should give a cricketer 50 Test matches before putting him into the race of being the best all-rounder. Somebody you are talking about and comparing with after two or three series is unfair.”
At the same time, Kapil reserved high praise for the all-rounders of the modern day. He even went as far as to remark that they were doing ‘far better’ than Kapil and his contemporaries.
“Hadlee, myself, Imran and Botham should forget our time and look at the present times. These young boys are very very talented. They are doing far better than us. So we should respect this generation,” 57-year-old said.
It must be recalled that Kapil, along with Pakistan’s Imran Khan, New Zealand’s Richard Hadlee and England’s Ian Botham, formed a quartet of all-rounders who dominated world cricket during the 80s.
However, he refused to pick any individual as the best of the current lot. Asked about who wass the best seam bowling all-rounder, Kapil quipped “I am the last one (best allrounder). That’s it.”
On a serious note he said “But, it will be unfair to single out one current player to say he is the best allrounder, who could be in the league of Ian Botham, Imran Khan and Sir Richard Hadlee.”
Kapil also declined to venture a prediction about the upcoming India New Zealand test series. “I don’t make any prediction. I always went out and played my game. I would like to see what approach both teams adopt in the first Test. It is very difficut to say. Anything can happen,” he said.
He justified his action. “I know more about my team but I don’t know much about the opposition so it will not be right on my part to make any comments,” Kapil signed off.
