Sports
Respect Sachin’s opinion about me as coach: Kapil Dev
New Delhi: Former India cricket captain Kapil Dev Wednesday said he respect’s Sachin Tendulkar’s opinion about him as coach of the cricket team but refused to be drawn into a controversy with him by counter-commenting on the sensitive topic.
Sachin in his autobiography “Playing It My Way” has said that Kapil in his tenure as the coach of the national team “disappointed” him.
Kapil coached the team from Sep 1999 to Sep 2000, during which India lost its first home series in 13 years. India managed only one victory in three Test series, lost five and won just once in eight Tests with Kapil as coach. In One-Day Internationals (ODI), India won only nine of 25 matches under him.
“It is his opinion. As long as it is his opinion, it is fine with me. Everybody is entitled to one’s opinion. I respect that,” Kapil said on the sidelines of a digital programme here.
“If someone has to sensationalise it, he is free to do that. I don’t have anything to say or add to it.”
He also spoke of his willingness to accept Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s invitation to tour Australia.
Modi invited Kapil and former captain Sunil Gavaskar to be part of his tour to Australia Monday. Modi is scheduled to leave for Down Under Nov 14 and is currently taking part in the ASEAN-India summit in Myanmar.
“I am happy that PM has invited me. I will gladly accept the offer. That is the least I can do. I am always ready to help if the government or the BCCI asks me. I will always willingly participate to help my country in any which way,” the former cricketer said.
He also said that these invitational tours can help develop the nation in several capacities and “not just in cricket”.
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Sunil Gavaskar gives his opinion of GT allrounder Rahul Tewatia
The left-handed batsman from Haryana is garnering praise from all quarters for the way he’s finishing games regularly in the most exciting IPL season.
Gavaskar reckons Tewatia’s whirlwind knock in Sharjah (in IPL 2020) where he smashed West Indies pacer Sheldon Cottrell for five sixes in an over, gave him the confidence that he belongs to the big stage.
Speaking on Cricket Live on Star Sports, Gavaskar said, “That assault on Sheldon Cottrell in Sharjah gave him the belief to do the impossible and the confidence that he belongs here. We saw the impossible (he did with the bat) the other day as well. There’s no twitching or touching the pads (which shows a batter’s nervousness) when he bats in the death overs. He just waits for the ball to be delivered and plays his shots. He’s got all the shots in the book, but most importantly his temperament to stay cool in a crisis is brilliant.”
Gavaskar has also nicknamed the 28-year-old cricketer the ‘ice-man’ and lauded Tewatia’s ability to remain unruffled during the tense moments.