Kapil Dev belongs to a generation when T20 cricket league was an alien concept, but as the game has progressed with the shorter format dominating the game, he is happy to see the amount of talent that has emerged.
“Don’t you feel good when teams score 300 runs in T20I? I feel very good because it shows the amount of talent we have. In our time, we struggled to score 100 runs in 50 overs. So, you have to admire the generation,” Kapil said during Sportstar PlayCom 2025: Business of Sports Summit at Bharat Mandapam here on Saturday.
In a fireside chat with Suresh Balakrishna, the Chief Revenue Officer of The Hindu Group, Kapil admitted that while it is heartwarming to see the parents encouraging their wards to take up sport, it angers him when people want to play in the IPL and not for the country.
“The change is that now the parents want their kids to play cricket, whereas in our time, playing cricket meant parents would slap you. Now parents bring the wards to the ground with the hope that their child can play in the IPL. It angers me when you want to play the IPL and not for the country. That’s when I get annoyed. The aim should be to represent the country, and not the club. You can surely go and play club cricket but playing for the country (is the ultimate),” he said.
However, he isn’t against former cricketers featuring in franchise league cricket. “After playing, they have to look after themselves. And if they think they can make a better life by playing in the leagues, that’s fine,” Kapil said.
While the BCCI does not allow its players to feature in any franchise leagues, except for the IPL, the retired players are permitted to feature in overseas leagues. And, Kapil sees nothing wrong in that.
“We should never raise our fingers, because either you give them a guarantee that they would be looked after leaving cricket. The fact is we don’t look after anyone. The player needs to look after himself. Maybe, he doesn’t want to play for India anymore as he has played and fulfilled his passion. Now, he wants to make a better life for his family. And we all do that,” the 1983 World Cup-winning captain said.
Asked to compare between Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Rohit Sharma as captains, Kapil rated the former highly.
“Dhoni was far better. He could assess things much better. And secondly, being the wicketkeeper gave him the advantage. Any player can be relaxed, but a wicketkeeper can never relax even for a moment as he has to be watchful of every ball coming to him. So, he can assess (the situation). And he (Dhoni) knew what he was doing. And, I think he has the ability to take the team till the end…”
Under Dhoni’s leadership, India won the 2007 T20 World Cup, the 2011 ODI World Cup and the Champions Trophy in 2013, whereas Rohit led India to the T20 World Cup title in 2024, followed by the Champions Trophy earlier this year.
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Published on Sep 13, 2025
