Kapil Dev blasts current India players, says ‘too much money’ has led to arrogance

Legendary all-rounder Kapil Dev slammed members of the current Indian cricket team, saying money and success had made them arrogant and overconfident and prevented them from approaching up to legends of the game for advice.

The 1983 World Cup-winning captain backed batting legend and former teammate Sunil Gavaskar’s comments on current players not seeking his advice despite his availability. Gavaskar had said that while icons such as Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman would regularly walk up to him for advice on techniques, the same cannot be said of the current crop of players.

“Differences come out, the good (thing) about these players… is that they are very confident. 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,” Dev was quoted as saying according to The Week.

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“Sometimes too much money comes, arrogance comes. These cricketers think they know everything. That’s the difference. I would say there are so many cricketers who need help. When Sunil Gavaskar is there, why can’t you talk? Where is the ego? There is no ego as such. They feel ‘we are good enough’. Maybe they are good enough, but extra help from somebody who has seen 50 seasons of cricket, he knows things. Listening sometimes can change your thought,” added Dev, who also had served as head coach between 1999 and 2000.

Dev had also recently commented on Hardik Pandya’s fitness and believed that the all-rounder, who currently leads India in the T20I format and is Rohit Sharma’s deputy in ODIs, can handle the rigours of Test cricket and represent the nation in all three formats.

“Nobody has had more breakdowns than Dennis Lillee. So I don’t believe that. Human body can come back from any corner, come back into top condition,” Dev told The Week.