‘They know everything’ – Kapil Dev reacts to Sunil Gavaskar’s remark about players not approaching him for advice

Indian cricket has undergone significant change over the years. It has gone a long way from its obscurity in the 1970s to epic heights in the current time. The Indian Premier League (IPL), the most expensive cricket competition in the world, is held thanks to the financial clout of the India Cricket Board. The players have also become wealthier.

For an Indian cricketer, the sources of revenue are numerous, ranging from high-paying central contracts to lucrative IPL deals to pricey brand sponsorships. India’s 1983 World Cup champion Kapil Dev believes there is always potential for growth despite their wealth.

Earlier, Sunil Gavaskar, the former captain of India, said last month that even some of the best cricketers in India, including Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar, frequently phoned him for guidance when they were having trouble. He took a nasty “ego” jab at them, but he still finds it surprising that none of the Indian cricketers of today prefer to do so, even on their worst days. His old colleague Kapil Dev responded to the comment with a loud statement.

“No, no one has come. Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, and VVS Laxman regularly came to me. And they would approach me with a specific problem and you could tell them something which you had observed. I don’t have an ego about this, I could go and talk to them but since there are two coaches — Rahul Dravid and Vikram Rathore – so sometimes you hold back since you don’t want to confuse them with too much information,” he had said to Indian Express.

Touching on the same topic, the veteran India player, Kapil Dev said in an interview with The Week, the World Cup-winning captain said that it generally shows confidence but on the other side it also showcases that the present-day India batters perceive that “they know everything”. The Haryana-born all-rounder also highlighted that it is due to IPL that the cricketers have a huge monetary advantage at starting part of their career which eventually leads them to turn “arrogant.”

“Differences come out, the good (thing) about these players…is that they are very confident. A negative point is they think they know everything. I don’t know how to put it better than that. But they are confident, but they think ‘you don’t have to ask anybody’. What we believe is an experienced person can help you,” the former India captain said.