Indian cricket now has a system that gives opportunities to express yourself: Kapil Dev

Former India captain Kapil Dev was a pioneer when it came to revolutionising fast bowling in India. Before Kapil Dev came on to the scene, fast bowlers were only meant to rough up the ball for the Indian spinners to come into play.

Kapil Dev went on to play 131 Tests for India and held the record for the highest wickets in Test history for a long time with 434 scalps to his name. The scene has completely changed now and India can bank on a battery of fast bowlers featuring the likes of Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Shami, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav and Bhuvneshwar Kumar to succeed in all conditions.

In an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda’s Indranil Basu and Shanivi Sadana, Kapil Dev said that Indian cricket now has a system in place by which young fast bowlers and cricketers can express themselves.

“There is a system which gives you an opportunity to express oneself. Today youngsters have opportunities to come and play. Parents also think the kids can make a life out of that, and they give them time. If they are not good in studies to go and play,” Kapil Dev said in an exclusive interview to Sportskeeda.

“Parents will pick five years of IPL over becoming an IAS officer. In today’s world, if you play IPL for five years, you are settled if you don’t do any stupid things,” Kapil Dev said why more and more options in fast bowling are coming up.

Kapil Dev himself came up from a very modest background in Haryana and went on to captain India to their maiden World Cup title in 1983. One of the keys to Kapil Dev’s success and longevity – he played international cricket for 16 years – was his discipline.

“I don’t know over a period of time you start working yourself, if you are an army person you automatically become disciplined. If you are a cricketer, if you take your life seriously then it is disciplined, you grow over a period of time with that,” the former India all-rounder said.

There is also a belief that Kapil Dev never bowled a no-ball in his career. Although that fact can be debated because till 1980, no-balls were not attributed to bowlers.

In spite of that, Kapil Dev was highly disciplined, especially when it came to giving away cheap runs.

“No, I think these are wrong, it’s a wrong myth I would say. I remember first when I made a debut in first-class cricket, I bowled 15-20 no-balls in my first match and from there I started working very hard to ensure it did not happen again.

“In my first Test, I remember I bowled a no-ball but in my last 50 Test I did not bowl any no-balls because I started training myself to understand my body,” Kapil Dev explained.

“I hardly used to bowl a no-ball because I used to work hard. In the nets, I used to bowl one foot behind the crease so that in the real match I can be that much more effective,” the former India captain added.