India played great cricket and played like champions, now move on: Kapil Dev

3 months ago

Former India captain, Kapil Dev wants cricket to move on following the controversial Asia Cup 2025 campaign, which saw many off-field matters take the spotlight as India went on to beat Pakistan in the final.

Transcript

00:00and joining us now is a very special guest he is arguably the greatest cricketer india has ever

00:12produced the 1983 world cup winning captain the one and only kapil dev appreciate you're joining

00:18us kapil dev ji kapil paji i want to ask you how do you respond to what we have seen at the asia cup

00:25not so much on the field but of it indian players refusing to shake hands with the pakistani players

00:31and now even refusing to accept the trophy last night from mosein nakvi the the head of asia

00:37cricket council how do you respond as a former cricketing great to what you saw happening on

00:43the cricket field sir i think when they didn't shake and it was fine you shown your

00:53uh being not happy uh to be part of that uh matches but the government and the cricket board

01:04have given you or have said that go and play you are playing that individual have their own liking

01:11and disliking i think once the government takes step forward and the cricket board then the player

01:17should play yes shaking hand is not a big thing you didn't shake hand it doesn't matter it's not

01:23a big thing yeah you already announced you don't want to take a trophy from that man that's also

01:29fine but you can't linger on for these type of thing you have to finish you have to move on let the

01:35government do that job let the politician do that job our job was to make a impact or make a dent

01:42which i think indian team did it not once three time playing well winning the matches and after that

01:50they have shown that this type of behavior from pakistan we won't like it but now one have to

01:57move on don't try to carry on uh something which not good for the sportsman it's only politician

02:05or the cricket board should decide what's the best thing for indian cricket team now

02:10i i want to ask you honestly if you were india cricket captain would you have shaken hands do you

02:20believe shaking hands is part of the common courtesy of sport with your opponent or you believe the

02:27situation has reached a point where you can't even shake hands with your opponents

02:30i think it's uh i think definitely a heart in heart nobody want to shake hand when you are not happy

02:42uh to play with them but again the cricket board have decided we will go and play uh shaking hand is

02:49not a big thing i think we media and we people are trying to make a very big issue i think one have to

02:56move on you didn't want to shake hand uh you didn't want to talk to them it's good enough it's in the

03:02tournament you play i think again don't make a bigger issue than that i think uh we as a media also

03:10should take a responsibility try to let it go now whatever it happened it happened let's move on you

03:17played a great cricket and played like a champion that's more important and i think again media's job

03:24is their job as a sportsman i would say you move on let's play the game and move on let the polish

03:31politician and the cricket board take the step forward

03:39you're saying move on but how do you move on when the pakistan uh uh cricket board chairperson who's also

03:45asian cricket council chairperson then walks away with the trophy he walks away with the trophy doesn't

03:50give the indians their medals does that matter or uh or not

03:57no no it doesn't matter you already shown you are the champion and whole world have seen one trophy is

04:05not going to make so much different that's why i said move on let's not carry on sitting and talking

04:11about the same thing if their mind says that they want to take the trophy okay they lost they still can

04:18keep a trophy but actually champion are who have done front of the world on the television we have

04:25seen how great cricket indian team have played

04:32but kapil paji you're saying let the politicians and the boards decide there are those who believe

04:38that boards are using the players as pawns players cut putli hain that they have to do whatever the

04:45politicians and the board do they as a result the sport suffers the focus should be on the cricket

04:51on the players instead the focus is on fighting these battles off of the field are the players only pawns

05:03i don't know i haven't seen in that side i think sometime as a player also you have a feeling for your country

05:09for both the players there that side also this side also but again you shown that your unhappiness to

05:18be a part of that system what the cricket board was asked you played but if a personal somebody is not

05:27happy he can say i don't want to play against pakistan but when the cricket board or the country is given

05:33okay to you go and play and shaking hand is not a big thing i don't think so it's a big thing it's a new

05:40system come out everybody have to shake hand uh 20 30 years back nobody used to shake hand they just

05:47after the toss also they never shake hand but again yes you feel unhappy and whatever it happened and

05:55uh uh the government indian government have decided we don't want to let them come out again and again

06:04and try to disturb our country but one thing rajdeep everybody have to understand they are the neighbor

06:11and you want to have a good neighbors they can say the same thing we can say the same thing the only way

06:19forward forward forward is you have to have a dialogue you have to talk to them again and again in 70

06:26years it didn't improve much but one can't say run away from the situation whatever both the countries

06:33are they are our neighbor we should try our best uh thing is as as a big brother try to make sure try to

06:42solve the problem yes uh so many bad things happen which i don't like to talk about that and i like to

06:50move on in my life and try to say whatever happened yesterday let's move on in for tomorrow better tomorrow

07:01would we have been better off given that there is so so much anger and hurt in this country over

07:06what happened in pehlgaam in april should we have just boycotted it would it have been better to just

07:11boycott and not play rather than play in this atmosphere where you have players making gestures

07:17at each other someone is showing a bat like a weapon someone is suggesting jets have fallen i mean should

07:23we have just not played and boycotted the tournament that would have been better rather than play and not

07:29observe the common courtesies now i i don't know really i can't answer that i think it's up to the

07:38cricket board and to the government once you go on there just play yes you've shown your first thing

07:45you didn't shake hand that was good enough you've shown uh you're not happy with that that's after

07:51that i think you have to move on and play the game and come out and again i would say that to you raj

07:57it doesn't matter if they didn't give us a trophy we are the champion and that's the way you have to move on

08:03uh for better tomorrow

08:09my final question to you you were uh a champion in an era where pakistan also was a champion side

08:16you had a lot of friendships with the pakistani cricketers uh do you feel nostalgic that in that

08:23in the era in which you played you all played hard on the on the cricket field but off the field you had

08:29friendships with the pakistani cricketers is that not possible anymore

08:37i think the social media and become much bigger than that so many things used to pass by and you

08:45don't bother about that today nothing can you know go through without noticing what's happening around

08:52the world so i think a lot of people get involved with the small small things and they give their

08:57opinion and those small opinion become a bigger issues and i think in our time we didn't have so

09:04many things have written or said about which 90 percent you never come to know the time you come to know

09:11the things are over today uh if i say to you right now whole world can come to know within uh five minutes

09:18so i think the things have changed the world is changed so if one have to see what is the government

09:24policy i like to stick with the government policy whatever the government policy our government

09:30have decided go play then play and somebody like you know captain can come out sky or yadav can say

09:39look i personally don't want to play that's his personal opinion but when the cricket board have given

09:46okay go and play you play you showed i don't want to shake and that's your personal thought process

09:54and after that if they don't want to give trophy they are not going to take away those who are saying

09:59we are playing only for the money have won that because there is so much of money in cricket that's

10:03why we play these tournaments that the truth of the matter is there's a hypocrisy we will not allow

10:08pakistani film stars to work in indian films we don't want cultural exchanges but cricket has to be played

10:16oh well again that is a policy cricket can't play without the approval of the government let's put

10:24it that way i can't go to pakistan without approval of my government and nobody can come from there if

10:31we don't give them uh option to come here so i think these are the things rather than making bigger issue

10:39one have to move on yes whatever happened in pal gum was uh terrifying horrible i have no word

10:46to express myself i felt so bad uh again that's government's policy how to tackle that how to look

10:55after that our job is as a sports person go out and play if the government have allow us to play if the

11:03cricket board have given okay go and play yes i don't want to say hello to them i don't want to shake

11:10hand that's my personal thought process okay my final question sir is a cricket question if there was

11:19a 19a if there was a match between this 2025 team which has won the asia cup and also won the world cup

11:27last year and your team of 1983 that won the 1983 world cup won the champion of champions trophy who would

11:34win who would win in a t20 match kapil dev's team or the team of surya kumari adam

11:44oh i think very difficult to say they can out beat us uh any day because they know how to play t20

11:50we didn't know how to play t20 even 10 years back people don't know how to play t20

11:56no 150 mile ball is coming they are sweeping as they are playing to the off spinner or leg spinner so

12:04you can't compare two eras so i would say they are far better unbelievable they are far better what

12:11our team was five years back

12:17but i i will let me say this in any team in any era in t20 cricket kapil paji you would be a match winner

12:25that much i can say with complete confidence

12:32well i'm not playing that what different it makes today

12:40and and and one last question who who has impressed you the most in this indian team is there one

12:46standout player you are most impressed with

12:49i think most of the players done their job very well abhishek has become a household name but i i

13:01said on yesterday also i keep on saying that you know give this young boys couple of years let the

13:07opposition will start understanding his way of playing any new bowler come out like

13:14boomra other people have to tackle him or like malinga so all the young players when they come out

13:22first season is very good second season by the third season if they start playing well you will say

13:28yes i think he has a special talent but what tilak played yesterday was fabulous i think maturity was

13:38unparalleled from these boys knows how to win the matches they don't get into the panic mood where they

13:47start going wild they know they can get it in last three overs they have to get 30 plus runs

13:55they will get it easy it didn't give me once impression they are looking shaken up what will happen

14:06and how bad is this pakistan team you played some very great pakistani sides the imrans the akrams

14:13the zahir abbases how bad is this pakistan team are you surprised by how bad they are on the cricket field

14:18yeah i think they don't have the similar talent what they used to have in 80s or 90s or before that

14:29i think pakistan have given us to the world uh one of the best cricketer you can talk about imran khan

14:37you can talk about javed miyadad zahir abbas and wasim akram vakar younes

14:43uh i think they've given us the talent but unfortunately we can't see similar talent not

14:51even one percent they have the similar talent what they used to have

15:00well you know on that note i want to end here because i wish we could talk more about the cricket

15:05on the field in the future and off the field hopefully there will be less controversies because

15:12that clearly shadows uh indian pakistan cricket and thereby makes it perhaps a little less watchable

15:20when the toxicity from outside interferes with cricket on the field i appreciate uh kapil there you joining

15:27me on the show today thank you so much i just want to say no i

15:36go ahead go ahead sir

15:41now i just want to i just want to say your responsibility our responsibility milt a

15:48responsibility for entire media also we look into the sports side rather than looking into the politics

15:56side yes media have the responsibility to bring everything on the table but as a sportsman i

16:02would like to see we should stick to the sports it will be much better

16:11well as long as politicians don't interfere in sports sir the problem is our politicians interfere

16:16in sports that's why we are forced to cover the politicians if the politicians also should stay away

16:21from sports kapil paji then well that's not possible they can make an argument your sports people coming

16:32into the politics then what happened so i think this is like an open book they can come this side the

16:39sportsmen go to the politics but the all the politician and sports people try to see that the sport should

16:48remain in sports way it will help everybody okay on that note kapil paji thank you so much for joining us

17:00the one and only kapil dev on the latest in the pakistan cricket controversy thank you so much for joining me

17:10thank you

India played great cricket and played like champions, now move on: Kapil Dev

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