DECEMBER 20, 2022
Kapil Dev, an Indian cricket legend who led his team to its first World Cup win, has kept his position despite being criticized for things he has said about pressure. The former cricket player brought up the topic again in his speech last Friday to a crowd in Kolkata, calling for a shift in thinking.
Kapil Dev urged the current crop of cricketers to take the sport less seriously and have more fun, arguing that a player should retire from the sport if the pressure of national team participation gets too much to handle.
While discussing this issue, India’s great all-rounder voiced his confusion at how a player could be selected to represent a country with a population of 100 crores without explaining his selection.
He thinks that pride, rather than pressure, should be the center of the talks.
Kapil Dev made a scathing remark about players who sell out to “start a banana stall, or sell eggs” in a long address that went viral on social media.
“I keep hearing ‘We are playing the IPL. There is so much pressure.’ This word is so common, right? To them, I say ‘Don’t play’. Who is asking you to? There is pressure, but if you are playing at that level, you will be admired and abused. If you are afraid of abuses, then don’t play. You are representing the country and you have pressure? How is that possible? Out of a country of 100 crore, 20 of you are playing and then you say you have pressure? Instead, say it’s a matter of pride. You are getting so much love from people. Learn to take that pride.”
He added that pressure is just an excuse for people who don’t want to work hard. He added,
“Pressure is an American word. If you don’t want to work, don’t. Is anyone forcing you? Jaa ke kele ki shop lagao. Ande becho ja ke. (Open a banana stall, go sell eggs). But why do you take it as pressure when you have an opportunity? Take it as pleasure and have fun with it. The day you start doing it, the job will appear easy. But if you call the same thing pressure, nothing good can come of it.”
Here is how netizens reacted to his remarks.
Several cricketers have cited pressure and taken long breaks from the sport. Many have retired from one format, including England’s top all-rounder Ben Stokes.
After the England tour, Virat Kohli took a sabbatical before rejoining the team for the Asia Cup, when he ended his nearly 1000-day century drought.
Courtesy/Source: IndiaTimes / PTI
