Legendary Kapil Dev is known for calling a spade a spade and has never shied from speaking his mind regardless of being criticized for his blunt views. The former India captain again sparked a massive controversy by making ‘derogatory' comments against current national players. Kapil Dev's controversial remarks against India's top cricketers, including skipper Rohit Sharma and the talismanic Virat Kohli, came during an event in West Bengal where he was sharing his views on the subject of “pressure” in international cricket.
Speaking on the issue, Kapil Dev claimed that modern-day cricketers were making an unnecessary hue and cry about “pressure” in the sport, and instead they should focus on the “pride” that comes with playing for the country.
In recent days, many big names from the game, including England skipper Ben Stokes and Virat Kohli have revealed that too much cricket has affected their minds and at times they have felt like running away from the game.
Ben Stokes even announced retirement from One-Day Internationals citing the same pressure. On the other hand, Virat Kohli took an extensive break when he was going through a lull before September when he made his return to international cricket.
Upon his comeback, Virat Kohli looked refreshed and immediately ended his nearly three-year century drought in the Asia Cup in the UAE. Subsequently, he lit up the T20 World Cup in Australia, finishing the high-profile competition as its top scorer.
Despite such examples, Kapil Dev feels that pressure was just an excuse to take run away from one's duties as Indian players never take breaks during the lucrative Indian Premier League (IPL) where these men earn a truckload of money.
Kapil Dev even suggested to those cricketers who can't handle pressure to sell eggs on the streets or open a banana stall.
“I keep hearing ‘We are playing the IPL. There is so much pressure.' This word is so common, right? To them, I say ‘Don't play'. Who is asking you to? There is pressure, but if you are playing at that level, you will be admired and abused. If you are afraid of abuses, then don't play. You are representing the country and you have pressure? How is that possible? Out of a country of 100 crore, 20 of you are playing and then you say you have pressure? Instead, say it's a matter of pride. You are getting so much love from people. Learn to take that pride,” Kapil Dev said during a public interaction in Kolkata.
“Pressure is an American word. If you don't want to work, don't. Is anyone forcing you? Jaa ke kele ki shop lagao. Ande becho ja ke. (Open a banana stall, go sell eggs). But when you have gotten an opportunity, why do you take it as pressure. Take it as pleasure and have fun with it. The day you start doing it, the job will appear easy. But if you call the same thing pressure, nothing good can come of it,” the 1983 World Cup-winning captain further stated.
But his comments were not much appreciated on social media as several netizens took to Twitter to blast him for his “narcissistic behavior.”
83 was definitely a fluke. A person who doesn't admire the work of other people doesn't know the value of hard-work.
In his interview, in every sentence , he was like "pressure hamare zamane mey hota tha" shows his narcissistic behaviour.— Captain Levi (@Adityataode) December 20, 2022
This is bullshit he played in the era when cricket was not considered a profession. At that, there were zero expectations from cricketers. Whereas nowadays people expect team to win every time when they enter the ground.
— Harshit Dhoot (@HarshitDhoot5) December 20, 2022
Thats why sometimes people say 83 was fluke
— parthhhh (@Sportify07) December 20, 2022
Similar sentiments were shared by Team India pacer Ishant Sharma who was a regular member of the Test side until last year before getting dropped due to the emergence of young fast bowlers like Mohammed Siraj.
“The only thing I would say right now is: ‘Do not think too much about the workload'. That's a new term that's come up in recent times, especially for fast bowlers. I never saw something like that during my international stint. When I started playing, my coach was an old-fashioned coach who would give me a ball in hand at 1 o'clock in the afternoon and we would go on till the sunset. That's how I could bowl long spells when I made my debut in Ranji Trophy and later on for India. If you want to improve, the only thing you can do is to keep bowling,” Ishant Sharma told Sportstar.
“I think if you have made your name through domestic cricket, you should not be selective about playing games thereafter. If you want to play domestic cricket, nobody can stop you. Only when you have played a sizable amount of cricket for the country can you be given a break at times. Most pacers break down during Ranji Trophy games because they don't go through the ideal preparation,” Ishant Sharma added.
“Bowling in Ranji Trophy is a different ballgame altogether. If you are studying for the IAS exam, you have to study for 16 hours a day. Similarly, if you want to prepare to last a whole season of Ranji Trophy and bowl 20 overs a day, you cannot prepare for it by taking breaks. You have to prepare accordingly. Only if you are used to bowling 25 overs in the nets every day can you bowl 20 overs in a game,” Ishant Sharma claimed.
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