Kapil Dev on Whitewash: After India’s 408 loss to South Africa at home in the second ODI, the noise and criticism regarding technique, pitches, and IPL has risen to another level. But Indian legend Kapil Dev is straightforward on this matter, asking a simple question: “Are India’s best batters even playing enough domestic cricket to know how to survive spin anymore?”
Kapil Dev On Whitewash
In a recent interview, the 1983 winning captain, Kapil Dev, compared the previous generation and the current one.
He said,
“That was because they had individual style, footwork, and the fact that they played good domestic cricket on a variety of pitches. I just want to know how many of today’s top players are playing domestic cricket. That’s the most crucial thing. If you don’t play domestic cricket and don’t face quality bowlers, you are going to struggle.”
His question is very right and logically correct after India lost the home series to New Zealand and South Africa, bowled out for sub-200 totals on surfaces.
Kapil Dev Questions Pitch Selection
The Indian legend also raised questions on pitches, stating that the five-day test match was getting finished in just two and a half days.
He said,
“The pitches are very, very important. Not the type where the game ends in two and a half days. You lose the toss and lose the game. What is the point of having a pitch where no team crosses 200? It is not good for the state of the five-day game.”
The thing did not end here; his biggest worry was that India’s batting strength for red-ball cricket is getting weaker over time.
“We are more occupied with T20s and ODIs, which means that batters hardly encounter bowler-friendly pitches. On surfaces offering a lot of help to spin and seam, you need patience and a different set of skills to thrive. Once you are ready to play on those pitches, your mindset affects how you tackle them. You do not have batters like Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman, who knew how to stay at the wicket. Batting in tests is about staying in the middle.”
Kapil Dev recalled the time when Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman used to stick to Ranji cricket in their early careers, whereas many current players now don’t play much domestic cricket; the main focus is more on IPL commitments.
“Rishabh Pant is a Match Winner”: Kapil Dev
The legendary cricketer is clear on stating that playing spin is a higher art than handling fast bowling.
“You need better skills to tackle spin than to play pace, but it depends on the state of the pitch. If the turn or bounce is vicious, it becomes very difficult. Remember, footwork plays an important role.”
He used the example of Rishabh Pant for today’s modern cricket, stating,
“If your temperament is to go and hit like Rishabh Pant, it is different. You cannot ask Pant to defend. He is a genuine match winner. He will go and hit the ball. He is not going to bat 100 balls and make 20. When he hits a six, we all go gaga. Do you tell him not to hit them? He is a batter who can demolish the opposition.”
Kapil Dev didn’t ask to change the style of players like Pant but feels that the team should rebuild the ecosystem that once produced players like Shastri, Amarnath, and Gavaskar.
“I was surprised that India lost to New Zealand and South Africa at home, but we should have prepared better. Test cricket is different. If you ask a person like me to defend, it will not work. But if you ask someone like Ravi Shastri to bat the whole day, he will do it. Jimmy Amarnath and Sunil Gavaskar could stay in the middle for the entire day. They had the temperament because they played a lot of domestic cricket.”
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