(Image source from: REUTERS)
Famous former captain of India, Kapil Dev, highlighted that attention should be on cricket instead of politics after the controversial Asia Cup final on Sunday, September 28, held at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium between India and Pakistan. In that match, India won against Pakistan by five wickets, but declined to accept the trophy and medals presented by Pakistan's Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, who also leads the Pakistan Cricket Board and the Asian Cricket Council. Consequently, the awards ceremony was postponed and made shorter, with the Indian team celebrating on the field without the official honors. Earlier, Haris Rauf was fined thirty percent of his match fee for making a provocative ‘plane crash’ gesture during the Super Four match, while Sahibzada Farhan received a warning for his ‘gunshot’ celebration upon reaching fifty runs, which he claimed was a form of cultural expression.
Kapil, who guided India to a World Cup victory in 1983, expressed that as an athlete, he would prefer cricket to stay a sport without political influence. “What I want to say is — it’s up to the media and everyone else to focus on sports instead of politics. Yes, media does have a duty to reveal everything, but as a sportsman, I believe we should concentrate on sports. It will be much more beneficial,” Kapil Dev stated in an interview. Kapil also mentioned that Pakistan no longer has players with the same level of skill they had during the 1980s and 1990s, when stars like Wasim Akram, Saeed Anwar, and Zaheer Abbas were prominent. “Yes, I feel they don’t have the same kind of talent they once had in the '80s, '90s, or earlier. Pakistan has gifted the world some of the best cricketers. We can talk about Imran Khan, Javed Miandad, Zaheer Abbas, Wasim Akram, and Waqar Younis. They produced amazing talent. Unfortunately, we can’t see that level of talent today — not even a fraction of what they possessed,” added Kapil Dev.
On Sunday, Pakistan started strong with an opening partnership of 84 runs between Fakhar Zaman and Sahibzada Farhan, but then fell apart, losing nine wickets for just 33 runs, concluding with a score of 146 in 19.1 overs. India, despite losing three early wickets, successfully chased down the target with two deliveries left.
