Six months after the Board of Control for Cricket in India announced a ban on one-day matches for junior teams up to the under-17 age group, Indian cricket icon Kapil Dev has asked the Board to review its decision.
Speaking to rediff.com at a promotional event for Sony Entertainment Television at the St Stanislaus school in Bandra, northwest Mumbai, Kapil Dev said, "One-day cricket is so prominent these days, it will be a mistake to ignore it."
The former India skipper, who is promoting the Under-19 World Cup to be hosted in Bangladesh in February, added that the Board should not stop youngsters from playing one-day cricket because, after all, it reaches out to more people.
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"It is important to teach youngsters the basics; but not by shutting them out of the one-day mode. I think the Board should plan the entire project for youngsters properly instead of making such decisions," he said.
"How can a newcomer not play one-day cricket and then suddenly be thrust into an Under-19 World Cup match? He will struggle!"
Speaking about his just-released autobiography, he said, "Just read my autobiography and you will understand why I wrote it.
"For the past 40 years people have been saying what they think of me and I listened. This time I thought I would say my own story, in my own words. Life has changed a lot for me and I want to tell people that."
He said he had absolutely no problems writing the book, since it was just cataloging the incidents in his life over the last 40 years.
"I just think the most difficult part of the book was that I had to fill 45 years into 400 pages. I wish I could fill at least 1,000 pages."
In a departure from his earlier stand against the Indian team having a foreign coach, Kapil said if the youngsters [in the team] are happy with him [the coach] and hiring a foreign coach is helping the country, then so be it.
"But if a Sandeep Patil can take Kenya to the semi-final of the World Cup, why can't he do the same with this Indian team?" he asked.
Kapil Dev was coach of the Indian team before New Zealand's John Wright took over in early 2001. His stint is eminently forgettable. During his tenure India lost its first home Test series in 15 years in 2000, when they were beaten by South Africa 0-2.
