Kapil Dev recently made some provocative remarks on fellow legend Sachin Tendulkar at an event in Dubai. Kapil claimed that Sachin did not know how to make 200s, 300s and 400s.
Some former Mumbai cricketeres including Ajit Wadekar rose to the bait and ticked off Kapil. Wadekar said that he had always sensed that players from North India disliked Mumbai cricketers because they did not enjoy playing against Mumbai.
But Kapil has now clarified that his comments were intended as a compliment to Sachin.
"Sachin, I've always said, was a fabulous cricketer and more talented than Viv (Richards). He had the calibre to be as ruthless, or more, but did not deliver as much as I had expected. He got 100 international 100s but his potential was greater. How else could I have described him? He was an underachiever and that I maintain was a compliment. He could have done better. Am I wrong?” he asked, speaking to the Hindu.
Kapil added that his statement on Mumbai cricket had also been misinterpreted. The Haryana all rounder had suggested that Sachin was not ruthless enough because of his upbringing in the Mumbai school of cricket.
“I would be silly if I doubted their calibre. Has Bombay not won 40 Ranji Trophy titles and 15 in a row? What an awesome record!" declared Kapil.
But he added that the game had changed and players needed to be more ruthless now. "With the exception of Sandeep Patil and to some extent Vinod Kambli, Mumbai has not produced ruthless cricketers," he claimed.
Kapil added that he had not meant to take a dig at Mumbai cricket since Mumbai belonged to him too.
"We also need to rise above petty regionalism. Mumbai is mine too. We would like to see Mumbai cricket and cricketers to move on. It is not about Mumbai, Haryana or Delhi.. It is about Indian cricket... Also, Wadekar Sir should please understand that I am a true Indian and Mumbai is part of us. I am a Bombaywalah too," he insisted.
Hopefully, the controversy will be put to rest now, for the good of Indian cricket.
