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The evolution of Indian cricket from being minnows in the 70s to becoming a cricketing powerhouse has indeed been remarkable. The rise of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the introduction of the Indian Premier League (IPL) has significantly contributed to the financial growth of the sport in the country. Indian players now have access to various avenues of income, including high-paid central contracts, lucrative IPL deals, and lucrative brand endorsements.
Kapil Dev feels there is always room for improvement:
However, Kapil Dev, the iconic captain who led India to victory in the 1983 World Cup, has expressed concerns about the current generation of players. Kapil opined that modern-day cricketers are very confident, but the negative thing about that is the players believe that they know everything. He believes that the current cricketers should talk to former ones as their experience can help them grow.
“Differences come out, the good thing about these players is their confidence. However, a negative aspect is their belief that they know everything. It’s hard to put it any differently. They are indeed confident, but it seems they think they don’t need to seek advice from anyone. What we believe is that experienced individuals can provide valuable assistance.” Dev was quoted as saying by the Week.
The Chandigarh-born cricketer further commented on the influence of money on the players, stating that sometimes excessive wealth leads to arrogance, making these cricketers believe they possess all the knowledge. He emphasized that many players could benefit from seeking help.
“Sometimes too much money comes, arrogance comes. These cricketers think they know everything. That’s the difference. I would say there are so many cricketers who need help. When Sunil Gavaskar is there, why can’t you talk? Where is the ego? There is no ego as such. They feel ‘we are good enough’. Maybe they are good enough, but with extra help from somebody who has seen 50 seasons of cricket, he knows things. Listening sometimes can change your thought,” the 64-year-old concluded.
This comes after his teammate Sunil Gavaskar had said that while the older generation of players like Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, Virender Sehwag. and others used to come to him for guidance with the bat, none of the current era players have done the same and he doesn’t know why.
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“No, no one has come. Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman regularly came to me. And they would approach me with a specific problem and you could tell them something which you had observed. I don’t have an ego about this, I could go and talk to them but since there are two coaches — Rahul Dravid and Vikram Rathore – so sometimes you hold back since you don’t want to confuse them with too much information,” Gavaskar said to the Indian Express
The recent performances of the Indian cricket team in the ODI series against the West Indies have raised some concerns. Despite dismissing the West Indies batting lineup for a low score in the first ODI, the Indian team faced difficulties during their run-chase. Notably, they lost five wickets before the experienced batters, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, even came to the crease. Rohit had to bat with only Kohli remaining among recognized batters in the order, indicating a lack of depth in the batting lineup.
In the second ODI, India decided to rest both Rohit and Kohli, and as a result, the batting line-up collapsed, getting bowled out for just 181 runs and suffering a six-wicket loss. This outcome highlighted the team’s overreliance on their top-order batters and the lack of stability in the middle order.
