Allrounder Kapil now drives on golf courses

India’s greatest fast-bowling allrounder Kapil Dev has a word of caution for new speed sensation Mohammed Siraj: Slow and steady wins the long race.

India’s 1983 World Cup winning captain, who has never missed a match because of injury in his 131-Test career spanning 16 years between 1978 and 1994, is impressed by the exploits of the Hyderabad quick in the recent Test series in Australia but says the onus is now on the pacer to keep performing. “Siraj is a good bowler who has done extremely well but he has to go a long way,” Kapil told this newspaper during his visit to Hyderabad on Thursday.

“He needs to carry on for at least five seasons. I get scared about the fast bowlers because they get injured very fast,” Kapil quipped.

“So many of them have come up in the last 10 years but have got injured — Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ishant Sharma, Ashish Nehra are examples. It’s tough yes, but you can overcome the difficulties if you are passionate about playing for the country,” he added.

The 62-year-old lauded Team India that emerged on top Down Under. “They have done wonderfully well. I never ever expected a performance like that when more than half the side was injured... hats off!”

“Your captain, the most important player, is not there, and there are so many on the injury list and then you come back and play so well... I haven’t seen better cricket than that in the 40 years that I have played and watched the game. The series win in Australia was definitely the cherry on the cake,” Kapil continued to heap praise.

“After such a high in Australia, I hope and pray that they maintain the momentum in the upcoming home series against England,” Kapil added.

Asked if it was time for India to have separate captains for Tests, ODIs and T20s, Kapil was non-committal. “Let’s leave that to the selectors and their collective wisdom. If one captain is overburdened, try and lessen his workload so that he is more relaxed. It’s nice to see Ajinkya Rahane doing so unbelievably well in the absence of Virat

Kohli. Then there were Rohit and Ashwin too as a back-up. So I would say we have enough players and experience to lead the side, thanks to IPL and domestic cricket,” he said.

Who are his favourite cricketers? “They keep changing. When I was playing it was G. R. Vishwanath, then Sunil Gavaskar. Sachin (Tendulkar) was everyone’s hero... mine was Rahul Dravid. When the youngsters play so well, I like to look up to them. I never expected Washington Sundar to do so well in Australia. You feel proud about your next generation and you look for your heroes in them. There is no shortage of talent in the country but the focus on future is the key,” Kapil said.

Speaking about the sporting culture in India, Kapil said: “I can say that we are getting better but have still have a very long way to go in order to catch up with other sporting nations. Parents in our country first give their children cricket bats and balls but those are snatched away when the kids are 12 or 13, when the focus shifts to academics. However, I have been a sportsman all through my life... God has been kind to me.”

The sporting icon then switched to golf. After retiring from cricket, his playing field only got bigger. What draws him to the expansive courses, moreso after suffering a heart attack that required an emergency angioplasty only two months ago? “It’s the beautiful, serene surroundings,” he says. “Just imagine strolling and playing your strokes in a 150acre garden. It’s green all around. You feel the breeze, smell the grass and simply love nature. I wish my house was in the middle of a golf course.”

Kapil says he can play golf all day. “It depends on the sun — as long as it stays up, I can be out there on the course, just wanting to play and enjoy myself.”

He’s very proud of the progress India has made in golf. “The Vooty Golf County near Hyderabad, the ones in Bangalore, Ahmedabad, DLF are the new courses that have come up in our country. About 30 years ago we used to wonder ‘can we ever have a course like the ones we see in Europe or America?’ Today we have better courses than those,” he tees off triumphantly.

It’s the beautiful, serene surroundings that draw me to golf. Just imagine strolling and playing your strokes in a 150-acre garden. It’s green all around. You feel the breeze, smell the grass and simply love nature. I wish my house was in the middle of a golf course. As long as the sun is up I can be out there.

— KAPIL DEV India’s World Cup winning cricket captain says he can play golf all day