As a young captain, I couldn’t tell my seniors how to do their jobs: Kapil Dev | Cricket News – Times of India
PUNE: Kapil Dev is hailed as one of the best captains Indian cricket has seen, but India’s first World Cup winning skipper feels otherwise.
The Haryana Hurricane, who was asked to lead the Indian team at the age of 23, feels he was too young to get the responsibility, which he didn’t deserve then.
“When they made me captain, I didn’t think I deserved it,” Dev said in Youtube series CRED’s The Long Game. The statement was made available through a press release by the producers of the show.
Dev was made to take charge of the Indian team just one year ahead of the 1983 World Cup. He felt he had a tough task to lead stalwarts of Indian cricket. “I was very young. I had so many senior and remarkably talented cricketers with me and my job was to take them along. I could not tell Sunil Gavaskar, Mohinder Amarnath, Madan Lal, (Syed) Kirmani how to do their job. I had to make sure I kept them together and I always said one thing: once you enter the cricket ground nobody is better than you. Respect the opponent as much as you can before the match or after the match and when you are on the field, nobody is better than you.”
The all-rounder added that captaincy may have its perks, but it is a crown of thorns.
“One thing I know about captaincy is — when we win it is never ‘I won’ but when we lose, the captain has to take the responsibility. What you need however as a captain most is commitment from the team. Talented people can still let you down but people who are committed will never let you down,” he added.
After retiring from his illustrious playing career, Dev was made India coach for a brief period. However, the legendary cricketer feels coach wasn’t his forte.
“I hardly coached. I wasn’t a coach. I was there for a very short and brief time. After that, I realized that I don’t think I can be a good coach,” he said.
The Haryana Hurricane, who was asked to lead the Indian team at the age of 23, feels he was too young to get the responsibility, which he didn’t deserve then.
“When they made me captain, I didn’t think I deserved it,” Dev said in Youtube series CRED’s The Long Game. The statement was made available through a press release by the producers of the show.
Dev was made to take charge of the Indian team just one year ahead of the 1983 World Cup. He felt he had a tough task to lead stalwarts of Indian cricket. “I was very young. I had so many senior and remarkably talented cricketers with me and my job was to take them along. I could not tell Sunil Gavaskar, Mohinder Amarnath, Madan Lal, (Syed) Kirmani how to do their job. I had to make sure I kept them together and I always said one thing: once you enter the cricket ground nobody is better than you. Respect the opponent as much as you can before the match or after the match and when you are on the field, nobody is better than you.”
The all-rounder added that captaincy may have its perks, but it is a crown of thorns.
“One thing I know about captaincy is — when we win it is never ‘I won’ but when we lose, the captain has to take the responsibility. What you need however as a captain most is commitment from the team. Talented people can still let you down but people who are committed will never let you down,” he added.
After retiring from his illustrious playing career, Dev was made India coach for a brief period. However, the legendary cricketer feels coach wasn’t his forte.
“I hardly coached. I wasn’t a coach. I was there for a very short and brief time. After that, I realized that I don’t think I can be a good coach,” he said.
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