Kapil Dev has never been a fan of the Mumbai School of cricket and his recent comments on Tendulkar’s inability to scale up on his big innings reinforce that belief. "He (Sachin) had the ability. He was technically sound but I felt he was there to get his hundred and that's it. Unlike Richards, Sachin wasn't ruthless; he was more of a perfect, or rather correct cricketer. Had I spent more time with him I would have told him 'Go enjoy yourself, play like Virender Sehwag’. You will be a much better cricketer.”
Sachin has been the subject of severe criticism from his fans in the past for his inability to help the team win difficult matches amidst a string of good individual scores. Kapil Dev’s criticism seems to be on those lines but only this time it’s devoid of any fact.
Sachin and Sehwag both are joint-top double century (6) scorer for India in Tests and Kapil Dev’s suggestion that he should have played more like the Indian opener seem a bit out of place. Tendulkar was also the first player to score a double century in One Day Internationals and it’s amusing that Kapil Dev conveniently forgot to mention that during his speech in Dubai.
The fans love Tendulkar not because of the runs he could have scored but because of the many innings with which he entertained us for 24 years. It was never about statistics or records for Tendulkar but the love for the game which kept the master going even after suffering career threatening injuries. Also, every player has a unique style of playing and Sachin would be the last person on earth who would need to change it just to convert a double century to a triple. No real fan would want it even in their dreams.
The comments by Kapil Dev are not a criticism of the master blaster but the reflection of the mindset of a Tendulkar super fan who misses him so badly that he ends up blurting out irrational theories on what he could have been and that too at inconsequential cricket meets!
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