Legendary cricketer Kapil Dev said national interest is of foremost importance when it comes to restarting bilateral cricketing relations with Pakistan. He was speaking to reporters after Karnavati University, a private university in Gandhinagar, announced Kapil as its brand ambassador. Kapil said, “Mera opinion important nahi hai. (My opinion is not important). Government’s thought-process is the most important. Only they can decide. What is important is the country’s policy. Players will be ready to play anytime. Certain policies, I think, we should leave it to the government. I think, as a sportsman and everyone, we should stand with the policy of our government.”
Asked about the decline of traditionally stronger teams and the emergence of new uncapped players in the current season of the Indian Premier League (IPL), the former World Cup winning captain initially tried to sidestep the question before saying that the infrastructure set up by the Board of Control for Cricket in India has gone a long way in producing young Indian cricketers.
“The Indian cricket board has placed a lot of importance on the infrastructure. This has been hugely beneficial to the young cricketers. The board has given facilities to players,” he stated.The IPL, he added, has increased the talent pool of Indian players. India once only had 12-15 top players but now there is a pool of 40 to 50 players who can play for the country in Tests, ODIs and T20Is, he said.
