The greatest allrounder of India Kapil Dev, while talking about his counterparts of his cricketing days, mentioned Imran Khan as a better captain than the allrounder.
Former Pakistan captain Imran Khan, who is now the Prime Minister of his country, led the Green Army in three World Cups, but he, finally, got the success in World Cup 1992, which is still Pakistan’s first and last victory in the tournament. Imran has played in 88 Test matches and 175 ODIs, scoring 3807 and 3709 runs respectively. He has also notched 326 Test wickets and 182 ODI wickets. Notably, during his last phase of career, Imran acted as the batsman.
Although Imran Khan is counted among the greatest allrounders, Kapil Dev applauded the former rival for his captaincy skills. He praised Imran’s capability to handle his notorious teammates who were involved in controversies.
‘He, however, was a very hardworking bowler who worked on his batting also to serve the team. I would rate him higher as a captain for the way he handled some of the notorious players in his team,’’ said Kapil Dev while talking to his former Indian opener Woorkeri Raman in the latter’s Youtube channel ‘Inside Out.’
Kapil Dev on Ian Botham:
Further, Kapil Dev also heaped praise on England’s former allrounder Ian Botham, who was the one-man army for his side. He said that Botham could alone lead his team to finishing point through his aggressive batting and fast bowling. Kapil opened up that he tried to replicate Botham’s role in the England tour in 1982 where he won the Man of the series.
‘He (Botham) could win a match on his own either through his batting or bowling. In fact, I developed this competitive spirit in me to do one better than him during our England tour of 1982 when I was fortunate enough to end up as the Man of the Series,’’ Kapil said.
The World Cup-winning captain Kapil Dev represented India in 131 Test matches and 225 ODIs, scoring 5284 and 3783 runs respectively. He picked 434 Test wickets and 253 ODI wickets during his illustrious career.