Sport | Cricket
Kirsten should do his job: Kapil
Former Indian captain reacts to coach's comment on test team captaincy.
- By K.R. Nayar, Senior Reporter
- Published: 23:49 September 8, 2008
- The former Indian captain believes selectors, not the coach, should choose who is ready to captain the test team. He added he is not against foreign coaches guiding the Indian team if it is for the good of the country.
- Image Credit: Megan hirons/Gulf News
Dubai: Former Indian captain Kapil Dev is known for his forthright views on the game.
As captain of the 1983 World Cup winning team he displayed his inspiring leadership skills. He was also coach for the Indian team before the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) decided to usher in foreign coaches.
The BCCI also sacked Dev as chairman of the National Cricket Academy for organising the Indian Cricket League (ICL). Despite the Indian cricket board not utilising his services he continues to serve the game as chairman of the ICL, and inspires youngsters.
"I organised the ICL with the intention of fighting no one. For me cricket is an education and nobody can stop me opening more schools for education," remarked Dev, who keeps away from the power game of the Indian cricket board.
Dev also refused to be drawn into a debate over the captaincy of Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Anil Kumble.
"Dhoni is doing his best and so is Kumble. So there should be no debate over it," he said.
However, he reacted when asked to comment on Indian coach Gary Kirs-ten's remark that Dhoni is ready for Test team captaincy.
"Selectors are the ones who should decide who should be the captain. Kirsten has been invited to do his job as a coach and he should do just that. If he feels that someone is ready and someone is not ready he should pass the message to the board," he said, stressing the fact that it was wrong of Kirsten to make a public statement.
Dev is not against foreign coaches guiding the Indian team.
Inspired
"If it is doing good for the country we should have a foreign coach. I feel whoever is best for the job should be taken for the job, whether he is foreign or Indian," he said.
When asked to comment on how far foreign coaches have so far succeeded with the Indian team, Dev said: "On and off they have done well but I won't say that everything they have done was great."
It was Dev who inspired the new generation to take up fast bowling. Does he feel that India's pace attack is emerging as its main weapon?
"We have only seam bowlers and they don't have much pace. Seam bowlers, when they come of age, can win matches. To win tournaments you need a balanced team."
Asked whether Twenty20 is the best way to promote the game, Kapil said: "If the spectators think it is the best form of cricket then it should be accepted. It is like a movie release. Before a movie release everybody might say it it will be a great movie but it is the people who will finally decide whether it is great or not."
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