FORMER cricket legend Kapil Dev has taken a brutal swipe at India’s national team for letting “too much money” lead to ignorance.
The 1983 World Cup-winning captain ripped into the current players for letting their egos and salaries prevent them from seeking advice from the old icons of the game.
Kapil Dev had plenty to say about the ‘arrogance’ of current Indian cricket players
Dev stormed the team to their first World Cup victory in 1983
The 64-year-old made the explosive comments ahead of the 2023 World Cup as Dev claims Team India are not inspiring confidence with their recent performances.
The remarks came after former captain and batting ace Sunil Gavaskar stated that current players, unlike their predecessors, were not seeking his help despite his offers.
Dev, who led India to their first ever World Cup victory, has slammed this tendency and argues the IPL’s lucrative contracts are also to blame.
Dev told The Week: “Differences come out, the good [thing] about these players… is that they are very confident. Negative point is they think they know everything.
“I don’t know how to put it better than that. But they are confident, but they think ‘you don’t have to ask anybody’.
“What we believe is an experienced person can help you.”
Dev, who served as head coach between 1999-2000 added: “Sometimes too much money comes, arrogance comes. These cricketers think they know everything. That’s the difference.”
He believes plenty of the current crop of players could benefit from advice from the old guard – but they don’t seek it out.
“They feel ‘we are good enough’,” he said.
Sunil Gavaskar had recently told The Indian Times: “No one has come. Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman regularly came to me.
“And they would approach me with a specific problem and you could tell them something which you had observed.”
Dev directly supported these criticism, stating: “Maybe they are good enough, but extra help from somebody who has seen 50 seasons of cricket, he knows things.
“Listening sometimes can change your thought.”
It comes as cricket fans might face a logistical nightmare as a marquee match could be rescheduled not to clash with a major festival.
The India–Pakistan ODI World Cup fixture could be advanced by a day to October 14, due to the opening day of Navratri celebrations.
Security agencies have expressed concerns over logistical issues as both events would take place at the Narendra Modi Stadium.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) could be going ahead with the move despite the tickets already being sold out, ESPNcricinfo reported.
