Indian Cricket has come a long way in evolution. From being underdogs in the 1970s and 80s, the Indian team has been a world-beater since the turn of the century. They dominate teams at home and away from home with their high-quality play. However, there are phases in the players' careers where they witness a downfall. While Sunil Gavaskar claimed that the current players don't approach for any help in their hard days, former captain Kapil Dev echoed the same and blasted the team with harsh remarks.
While speaking to the Week, Kapil Dev threw light on the issue stating that the players are confident about themselves but have a negative point of thinking that they know everything. "Differences come out, the good (thing) about these players...is that they are very confident. A 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," Kapil said to the Week.
The 1983 World Cup-winning captain then made remarks over money and arrogance coming into the players and questioned why players does not seek guidance from the likes of Indian Legend Sunil Gavaskar. "Sometimes too much money comes, arrogance comes. These cricketers think they know everything. That's the difference. I would say there are so many cricketers who need help. When Sunil Gavaskar is there, why can't you talk? Where is the ego? There is no ego as such. They feel 'we are good enough'. Maybe they are good enough, but with extra help from somebody who has seen 50 seasons of cricket, he knows things. Listening sometimes can change your thought.
Earlier, Gavaskar made comments about players not turning to him for advice. He highlighted that former players Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman frequently visited him for advice but the current crop does not come forward. "No, no one has come. Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, and 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. I don't have an ego about this, I could go and talk to them but since there are two coaches - Rahul Dravid and Vikram Rathore - so sometimes you hold back since you don't want to confuse them with too much information," Gavaskar had told the Indian Express.
