“Don’t play in IPL,” advices Kapil Dev to cricketers feeling pressure in playing 3 formats: Former Indian World Cup-winning skipper, Kapil Dev is known for his bold and blunt statements. He never shies away from speaking his heart out. This time, Dev maintained bold advice for the players who often complain about physical and mental health.
He reckons players must avoid featuring in the Indian Premier League (IPL) if the tournament is hampering them mentally and physically. He asserted that players should pursue the sport with passion.
At a felicitation ceremony organised at Taj Palace, the 1983 World Cup-winning captain said that players wouldn’t feel an inch of pressure if they start enjoying the game.
“I hear a lot of times on TV that there’s a lot of pressure on players to play in the IPL. Then I only say one thing, don’t play. If a player has passion, there will be no pressure. I can’t understand these American terms, like depression. I’m a farmer and we play because we enjoy the game, and there can’t be any pressure while enjoying the game,” Kapil said.
This remark from Kapil Dev has come at a time when players from different countries have raised their voices about how cluttered competitive cricket has become especially during these testing times. In fact, a few players have pulled out of playing in one of the three formats of cricket to lengthen their cricketing career.
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Kapil Dev’s verdict on non-striker run-out controversy:
Recently a massive controversy began in the name of ‘Spirit of Cricket’ after Indian women cricketer Deepti Sharma run out England’s Charlotte Dean at the non-strikers’ end as the latter batter was caught out of the popping crease.
Dev suggested a solution that the team should be penalised with a short run in case this happens.
“In a situation like this, I feel instead of intense debates every time – there should be a simple rule. Deprive the batsmen of their run. It should be deemed a short run. It’s a better solution in my mind,” Kapil had said.
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