Dev: Imran stands out for his captaincy

Indian legend holds Botham a notch higher among the his contemporaries

Senior Associate Editor

The debate over ‘greatest’ tag among the four master all-rounders of cricket who plied their trade around the same time — Kapil Dev, Imran Khan, Ian Botham and Richard Hadlee had been an eternal favourite for the game’s lovers. There could never be a definitive solution, but Kapil, the man who took the sport into every Indian household with the 1983 World Cup win believes each of their quartet were blessed with unique qualities.

Keeping Botham a notch ahead of the others because of his all-round abilities, Kapil said: ‘‘He (Botham) could win a match on his own either through his batting or bowling.”

Speaking in a no-holdsbarred chat with former Indian opener Woorkeri Raman in the latter’s youtube channel ‘Inside Out,’ where he dealt with a wide range of subjects from the Class of ‘83 to the batsmen he would pay to watch, Kapil rated Sir Richard the best among them in terms of bowling. “He was a like a computer,” the legend said.

Getting candid about Imran Khan, former Pakistan captain and now Prime Minister of his country, Kapil felt his initial impressions about Imran’s bowling was not really extraordinary.

“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. I was possibly fitter and more athletic than all three,’’ said Kapil.

Agreeing to Raman’s suggestion that he did not often take his batting seriously, Kapil said: ‘‘Yes, I agree that I could have possibly scored another 2000 runs or may be more — but those days there was nobody to really guide me.’’