Kolkata: Just a day after head coach Ravi Shastri had urged the BCCI to be more considerate while scheduling international tours in order to avoid fatigue of the players and support staff, the legendary Kapil Dev came up with a new suggestion, asking the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to own aircrafts and establish guest houses to avoid waste of time and energy while providing adequate rest to the players.
The 1983 World Cup winning captain in an interaction with The Times of India said, “Now that BCCI is making good money, it should have its own plane. It will save a lot of time and make life easier for Team India. The board can afford it. They should have done it five years ago.”
He added, “I would also love to see some cricketers buying their own aircrafts in the days to come. In the US, top golfers have their own planes. I don’t see any reason why our players can’t buy it. I also believe that if BCCI owns planes, the players will get enough rest between matches. I am sure BCCI can also afford the parking charges.”
Reportedly, the former Haryana all-rounder had made a similar suggestion to the top BCCI officials three years ago. He then had also advised them to establish guest houses to accommodate the players, instead of paying hotel bills.
Part of the four-member committee that will help to form the players’ association adhering to the Lodha panel recommendations, Kapil said that the Indian cricketers just like the others, should be allowed to play in other leagues across the world and not just the IPL.
“This is the reason why a players’ association is important,” he said. Adding, “I completely agree with BCCI that if a player is contracted, he will have to obey BCCI. But if they are contracted, the Indian players should be allowed to play all over the world. You need to educate the players and release them as and when required. You can’t own a cricketer.”
Praising Indian captain Virat Kohli’s achievements both as a captain and a batsman, the cricketer turned commentator believed that the Delhi batsman can break Sachin Tendulkar’s records.
He said, “After Sachin made his 100th century, I thought no one will break this. But after seeing Virat bat in recent times, we are starting to believe he can do it. At least, if he can bat like this in next two to three years, I won’t be surprised to see him getting closer to Sachin.”
He further added, “Virat’s achievement is also special because it has come from 190-odd matches while another legend Ricky Ponting took 375 matches to score the same number of ODI centuries. This is phenomenal.”
Also taking a dig at those people who claim that cricket has become a batsman’s game, India’s most successful fast bowling all-rounder said,”If the bowlers are so useless these days, then our spinner R Ashwin couldn’t have taken close to 300 Test wickets. This game has always been between bat and ball and it is only our perception which needs to change. We can’t be stuck comparing the past eras with present. When I was close to making the world record, I used to think about it because I was in that moment. But now, I don’t even think about the wickets which I got for India.”