Kapil Dev talked about the differences among him, Ian Botham, Richard Hadlee and Imran Khan.
Former Indian captain Kapil Dev forms the great all-rounders' quartet from the past which includes Pakistan's Imran Khan, New Zealand's Richard Hadlee and England's Ian Botham.
While Kapil believes that Botham was a "true all-rounder" among them, he insisted that he himself was a better athlete than all the three "put together."
"I wouldn't say I was the greatest, but I was a better athlete than all three put together," he told former India cricketer and current head coach of India women's team, WV Raman on the Inside Out podcast.
Kapil Dev played more international matches (131 Tests, 225 ODIs - 256 int'l matches) than all the three.
Talking about Botham, Kapil said, "Ian Botham was a true all-rounder -- in given conditions, he could win a match on his own. I wouldn't say Hadlee was the best batsman.
"Botham could do damage to the opposition both with bat [and ball]. Imran could run through the (opposition) team, but his ability as a leader was far better. To control the Pakistan team, he had a challenge."
Kapil said that Hadlee was the best bowler among the four of them while Imran was the most hard working. "The best bowling was Richard Hadlee's -- he was like a computer among the four of us," he said.
"Wouldn't say Imran Khan was the best athlete or the most natural, but he was the most hardworking player we've seen. When he started out, he looked like an ordinary bowler, but then he became a very hardworking fast bowler and he learned by himself. And then he worked on his batting as well."
(With inputs from IANS)
