I plan to continue working for the game the way I am working right now. There are a lot of things that still need to be done. I am not done yet.
He has 27 Test fifties but this half century is certainly different. It was certainly “nice timing” or so what he meant when we caught him on his mobile minutes before he was to cut the birthday cake with his daughter.
“Yeah, a half century of course but certainly a lot of batting left in this innings,” was Kapil’s first reaction when we wished on his 50th birthday at nine in the morning. The Devs had a party with close pals at their Delhi residence on Monday night. On Tuesday, it was just a cake-cutting ceremony with their daughter Amiya.
“She (Amiya) has requested her father to celebrate their birthday together. Amiya’s birthday is on the January 16 (she will be turning 13 that day) and both father and daughter informed me that they want a joint birthday party on January 18. Well, they are so excited about the whole thing that I am thinking of hosting a day-long affair at my place rather than just an evening party. It is a lot of work for me you see,” said Romi Dev.
As we prepared to fire our questions, Kapil excused himself for 30 minutes to cut his birthday cake with his daughter. It was not easy to get through to him even after an hour after the intimate birthday party was wrapped up. Finally, we managed to bowl a few quick-fire deliveries to him…
Happy birthday…Ah! Let’s not talk about the half century thing again. Age can never be a milestone in your life. It’s just another date. I don’t feel fifty at all. I have a lot of things to do. But thanks for the wishes.
How was the birthday party?I don’t want to celebrate my birthday as such. I will celebrate my daughter’s birthday on January 18. It’s not a big day for me only that I have become a year older. All my friends are calling up from all over the world. The phone has not stopped ringing from the morning…
Any regrets about turning fifty?Hmm…there are a few. I still miss my playing days. I still miss the adrenaline rush when I used to get on to the field to play for the country. Nothing can beat the feeling. Turning 50 means a lot of restrictions…on my diet, on partying etc. I have decided not to do too many late nights except when I am working. But I plan to continue working for the game the way I am working right now. There are a lot of things that still need to be done. I am not done yet.
You were saying that you have unfinished business…Yes, a lot of them. I am very passionate about the ICL that we have started. I really want to see the ICL tournament as the leading cricket tournament in the country. It is really sad the way it was labelled as a ‘rebel’ tournament and the harsh treatment it received from some quarters. It’s sad to say the least…
The Twenty-20 format of the game was conceptualised by ICL think-tank but it seems that it had paid dividends to IPL…Well, I wouldn’t think it that way. Nobody wants monopoly anywhere and it’s the same in the game of cricket. You tell me, you just want one Amitabh Bachchan? Or you also want to see a Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Akshay Kumar etc? The podium cannot be occupied by only a handful of players. We must create more space for more talents, we must create space for more heroes… I just want that. I want that the country should get 10 more Sachin Tendulkars. But we have to create space for those talents to come up. Instead of applauding our efforts, some are trying to throw spanners at our efforts. This is not in interest of the game…
But you're never bothered about critics anyway….Never in my life. I genuinely felt that I am working towards the interest of the game. I heard them telling that I am doing a Kerry Packer on Indian cricket but we should never forget that he ended up revolutionising the game. There will be opposition but I am prepared to tide over it. I have always held my stance no matter what. Trust me, I have not changed at all.
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