Kapil Dev speaks against Shoaib Akhtar’s India-Pakistan series proposal to raise funds for COVID-19 pandemic

Dixit Bhargav | 09/04/2020
Kapil Dev speaks against Shoaib Akhtar's India-Pakistan series proposal to raise funds for COVID-19 pandemic

Kapil Dev speaks against Shoaib Akhtar’s India-Pakistan series: The former Indian captain has prioritized health over all other things.

Former India captain Kapil Dev has supported Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s gesture of helping the United States of America during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

“Helping others is in our culture and I feel proud about that. We should not seek credit after helping others. We should strive to become a nation which gives more and more rather than taking from others,” Dev was quoted as saying by PTI.

The 13th season of the Indian Premier League, which was originally scheduled to begin last month, has been delayed till April 15 and is one of the many cricket tournaments which have been affected by this global crisis.

“Cricket will resume when things get normal. The game can’t be bigger than the country. The pressing issue is to look after the poor, the hospital workers, the police and all other people who are on the frontline of this war,” Dev said when asked about the resumption of cricket.

Kapil Dev speaks against Shoaib Akhtar’s India-Pakistan series

Former Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar had recently proposed an idea of India and Pakistan playing a three-match series to generate funds to fight this pandemic. The idea had mostly received negative feedback for playing a cricket match in these testing times is likely to degrade the situation.

“He [Shoaib Akhtar] is entitled to his opinion but we don’t need to raise the money. We have enough. For us, what is important right now is that how our authorities work together to deal with this crisis. I am still seeing a lot of blame game on television from the politicians and that needs to stop,” Dev spoke firmly against Akhtar’s proposal.

ALSO READ: Shoaib Akhtar targets Kashmir issue amidst COVID-19 outbreak

Furthermore, Dev pointed out BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) donating a whopping INR 51 crore towards the PM Cares Fund and how playing cricket in the near future will involve great risks for both the players and the spectators.

“Anyway, the BCCI has donated a hefty amount [INR 51 crore] for the cause and is in a position to donate much more if the need arises. It doesn’t need to raise funds. The situation is unlikely to get normal anytime soon and organising a cricket game means putting our cricketers at risk which we don’t need to.

“It is just not worth the risk. And how much money can you make from three games? In my view, you can’t even think of cricket for the next five to six months,” Dev added.

Post Edited By: Dixit Bhargav
India Kapil Dev Pakistan Shoaib Akhtar

About the author

Dixit Bhargav

Born and brought up in Pathankot, Dixit Bhargav is an engineering and sports management graduate who works as a Cricket Editor at The SportsRush. Having written more than 10,000 articles across more than five years at TSR, his first cricketing memory dates back to 2002 when former India captain Sourav Ganguly had waved his jersey at the historic Lord’s balcony. What followed for an 8-year-old was an instant adulation for both Ganguly and the sport. The optimist in him is waiting for the day when Punjab Kings will win their maiden Indian Premier League title. When not watching cricket, he is mostly found in a cinema hall watching a Punjabi movie.

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