Jaipur: Former India skipper Kapil Dev feels it is too early to compare Virat Kohli's Test captaincy to that of Mahendra Singh Dhoni's as the leadership role is still very new to the team's batting star.
"Baap Baap hota hain aur beta beta hota hain," was Kapil's witty reply when asked who is a better captain between Dhoni and his successor in Tests.
File picture of Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni. AFPFile picture of Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni. AFP
"There is a still long way to go before Kohli the captain matches the achievements of Dhoni. Having said that, Kohli has been doing great as a batsman and I am sure he will be equally good as India's captain," said Kapil at the launch of Wonder Cement's Cricket Mahotsav.
India go into the four-match Test series against South Africa having lost the T20 and ODI contests. Kapil said the outcome of the series will depend on the kind of pitches prepared.
"India will do well if the pitches are prepared keeping their strength in mind. That is to have good batting wickets that also offer assistance to their spinners. It will be tough to win if the curators end up preparing surfaces that suit South Africa."
And for having this point of view, it wasn't a surprise that he came out in support of Team Director Ravi Shastri after his controversial argument with Mumbai pitch curator Sudhir Naik post India's defeat in the fifth ODI.
"I am with Ravi on what happened. It was 2-2, the series was on the line and we should have had the pitch that suited India. But that wasn't the case. There is nothing wrong if the home team captain wants a pitch of his choice. We play on fast and bouncy tracks when we travel to South Africa," reasoned Kapil.
Talking about Virender Sehwag's retirement, the World Cup winning captain felt the former India opener deserved a farewell game but the lack of it did not make him a lesser legend.
"We should leave it to selectors to decide. It is not possible to give everyone a farewell game. If you ask me, it doesn't matter whether Sehwag played one more game for India.
The fact is that he remains a great player. Azharuddin who played 99 Tests wanted one more game but it didn't pan out that way," he added.
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To a large extent, our team is not settled: MS Dhoni after series loss against SA
Post announcing his retirement, Sehwag himself had expressed the desire of getting a fitting farewell from the game.
Kapil recently courted controversy by saying that Sachin Tendulkar did not make full use of his talent and could have scored more double and triple hundreds.
Asked about a clarification on what he said, Kapil retorted: "I said what I had to. You people can write whichever way you want."
On his take on resumption of Indo-Pak cricket ties, he added: "What Gavaskar said is his own view. I am with the government on this issue. I will be okay with whatever our government decides. All I can say is that we all always want to play as cricketers."
"Baap Baap hota hain aur beta beta hota hain," was Kapil's witty reply when asked who is a better captain between Dhoni and his successor in Tests.
File picture of Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni. AFPFile picture of Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni. AFP
"There is a still long way to go before Kohli the captain matches the achievements of Dhoni. Having said that, Kohli has been doing great as a batsman and I am sure he will be equally good as India's captain," said Kapil at the launch of Wonder Cement's Cricket Mahotsav.
India go into the four-match Test series against South Africa having lost the T20 and ODI contests. Kapil said the outcome of the series will depend on the kind of pitches prepared.
"India will do well if the pitches are prepared keeping their strength in mind. That is to have good batting wickets that also offer assistance to their spinners. It will be tough to win if the curators end up preparing surfaces that suit South Africa."
And for having this point of view, it wasn't a surprise that he came out in support of Team Director Ravi Shastri after his controversial argument with Mumbai pitch curator Sudhir Naik post India's defeat in the fifth ODI.
"I am with Ravi on what happened. It was 2-2, the series was on the line and we should have had the pitch that suited India. But that wasn't the case. There is nothing wrong if the home team captain wants a pitch of his choice. We play on fast and bouncy tracks when we travel to South Africa," reasoned Kapil.
Talking about Virender Sehwag's retirement, the World Cup winning captain felt the former India opener deserved a farewell game but the lack of it did not make him a lesser legend.
"We should leave it to selectors to decide. It is not possible to give everyone a farewell game. If you ask me, it doesn't matter whether Sehwag played one more game for India.
The fact is that he remains a great player. Azharuddin who played 99 Tests wanted one more game but it didn't pan out that way," he added.
ALSO SEE
One game we played well in all departments, says Dhoni after Chennai win
One game we played well in all departments, says Dhoni after Chennai win
Wankhede wicket was 'too true' for our bowlers, says Dhoni after defeat in fifth ODI
Wankhede wicket was 'too true' for our bowlers, says Dhoni after defeat in fifth ODI
To a large extent, our team is not settled: MS Dhoni after series loss against SA
To a large extent, our team is not settled: MS Dhoni after series loss against SA
Post announcing his retirement, Sehwag himself had expressed the desire of getting a fitting farewell from the game.
Kapil recently courted controversy by saying that Sachin Tendulkar did not make full use of his talent and could have scored more double and triple hundreds.
Asked about a clarification on what he said, Kapil retorted: "I said what I had to. You people can write whichever way you want."
On his take on resumption of Indo-Pak cricket ties, he added: "What Gavaskar said is his own view. I am with the government on this issue. I will be okay with whatever our government decides. All I can say is that we all always want to play as cricketers."
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