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
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.
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"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.
Virat Kohli (left) and Mahendra Singh Dhoni share a light moment during a training session ahead of their 2015 Cricket World Cup quarter-final match against Bangladesh in Melbourne on March 18, 2015. Pic/AFP
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."
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.
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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