Kapil Dev feels present-day all rounders are 'far better' than those from his era

Not too keen on hailing all rounders based on performances in a few series, former Indian captain Kapil Dev wants to give them time to establish themselves before rating their skills with both bat and ball.

Speaking to reporters at the launch of the 2nd Krishapatnam Port Golden Eagles Golf Championship in Bengaluru, the 57-year old compared modern-day cricketers to those from his era.

Kapil felt, “I think people should give a cricketer 50 Test matches before putting him into the race of being the best all-rounder. Somebody, you are talking about and comparing with after two or three series is unfair.”

In what is a far cry from the late 70s and 80s when multi-dimensional cricketers such as himself, Imran Khan, Ian Botham and Richard Hadlee used to rule the roost, there are only a handful of all rounders plying their trade at the moment. However, the ‘Haryana Hurricane’ had a different opinion on the current generation.

He claimed, “Hadlee, myself, Imran and Botham should forget our time and look at the present times. These young boys are very very talented. They are doing far better than us. So, we should respect this generation.”

When asked about the best of the contemporary lot, Kapil joked, “I am the last one. That’s it.” While off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin holds the number one spot in the ICC all rounders rankings in Tests, Shakib Al Hasan and Glenn Maxwell find themselves at the top in the limited-overs formats.

The dashing stroke-player however refused to take names and admitted, “But, it will be unfair to single out one current player to say he is the best all rounder who could be in the league of Ian Botham, Imran Khan and Sir Richard Hadlee.“

With India set to participate in a home season comprising of as many as 13 Tests, the focus veered towards their first opponents. But, he preferred to wait for the opening match to begin before predicting anything.

Kapil declared, “I don’t make any prediction. I always went out and played my game. I would like to see what approach both teams adopt in the first Test. It is very difficult to say – anything can happen. I know more about my team but I don’t know much about the opposition. So, it will not be right on my part to make any comments.”

The first Test between India and New Zealand is scheduled to begin at the Green Park Stadium in Kanpur from the 22^nd.