Kapil promises a 'big bang'

CUTTACK, OCT. 30. Cricket legend Kapil Dev has said he would come up with a bang that would shake his detractors who ``dragged'' him into the match-fixing scandal.

``I will come out with a big dhamaka and it will be in the media for at least five days,'' the former India captain said when asked whether he thought of suing the cricketer who dragged him into the scandal.

Though reluctant to talk about the charges made against him by Manoj Prabhakar, Kapil Dev said it was the media which had put him on the frontpages of newspapers for about 100 days.

``The frontpages are the preserve of politicians and I would have been happy to be on the sports page,'' Kapil Dev, slowly inching back to cricket after a self-imposed exile from the game following the match-fixing allegations, told reporters here last night.

In the city on a business trip, the all-rounder relented to comment on cricketing matters after he was first asked about his coming out to help speedster Ashish Nehra to iron out his bowling.

``Cricket has made me what I am today. If any youngster seeks my help I am prepared to help him out,'' said Kapil Dev, who was here in connection with the signing of the agreement between his firm Dev-Mushko Lighting Pvt. Ltd. and the Orissa Cricket Association for floodlighting the Barabati Stadium.

The Rs. 4-crore project would be completed within 120 days, he said.

On India's performance, Kapil Dev said much should not be read into the sequence of nine losses the team had suffered in limited-over finals in recent times.

``Sometimes it happens, but we should believe in the team. We must remember that the boys had played well each time to reach the finals.''

On frequent injuries to cricketers in recent times, he said, ``may be they are facing more pressure. I might have been lucky,'' he said referring to the injury-free career he enjoyed. ``If the boys work hard during the off-season, they will be fit during the matches.''

Right now, Kapil Dev said, he was fully occupied with managing his business and seriously pursuing golf. ``I am practising four hours a day and my aim is to represent the country in the sport,'' he said of his new love.

He said he was happy that states like Orissa were churning out class cricketers. ``It shows that the appeal of the game had spread far and wide across India.''

Asked as to which cricketing memory he treasured most, he quickly replied, ``definitely the World Cup victory in England in 1983.''

Of his memories at Cuttack, Kapil Dev said he would always remember the experience of rising early in his Bhubaneswar hotel and driving all the way to Cuttack for a game.

- PTI

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : Sport
Previous : World Cup: India faces Japan first
Next     : Germany goes gaga over Jaden