Kapil Dev replied whether the 1983 World Cup winners could beat this Indian team that won the Asia Cup in Dubai recently. (PHOTO: AP)Rajdeep Sardesai couldn’t stop himself and asked India’s first World Cup champ captain Kapil Dev the “last question” of their TV interview for Sports Today, a third time. The hypotheyical question? ‘Could the 1983 World Cup champs have beaten India’s 2025 Asia Cup winners at T20?’
Kapil displayed his crystal clear thinking that helped him guide India to the 1983 upset win over West Indies. “Very difficult to say. They can outbeat us because they know how to play T20. We didn’t know,” he told Sports Today. “Even 10 years back people didn’t know how to play (this brand of) T20. Now 150 mile (kph) ball is coming, and they (Indian batters) are sweeping as if they are playing an off spinner or leg spinner. You can’t compare two eras. But I’d say they are far better. Unbelievable. They are far better than what our team (India T20 side) was even five years ago.
When goaded by Sardesai to answer if he would slot into any T20 side easily, Kapil said, “I’m not playing now. What difference does it make today?”
When asked if any Indian star had impressed him, he sagaciously noted that he would take a couple of years before declaring Abhishek Sharma (or any batsman) a star. Even beyond the sophomore test. “Most players did their job well. Abhishek has become a household name. But give this young boy couple of years, opposition will start understanding his way of playing. Any new bowler comes out like Bumrah, he has to tackle other people. Or Malinga,” he said, explaining the obvious process of bowlers reading batters’ games and batters needing to counter their subsequent plans.
“Any new player, first season is very good, second season also. By third season if they are playing well, you will say ‘Yes! I think he has special talent.'”
But Kapil told Sports Today that Tilak Varma had managed to impress him with his temperament. “But what Tilak played yesterday, was fabulous. Maturity was unparalleled. These boys know how to win matches. They don’t get into panic mode where they start going wild. They know they can get 30 plus in last 3 overs. They will get it easy. Not even once I got the impression that they are shaken up or (needed to worry about) what will happen,” he told Sports Today.
Kapil believed Pakistan cricket had seen better days. “Pakistan don’t have similar talent like what they used to have in 80s or 90s or before that. Pakistan have given the world the best cricketers – Imran Khan, Javed Miandad, Zaheer Abbas, Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis. But unfortunately, we can’t see even 1 percent of that talent of what they used to have,” he said.
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