Kapil Dev: Virat Kohli has taken the responsibility of a super star

Give him a couple of years, he has always been very dedicated and knowing his temperament, he will be very good for the team. He will instill the same dedication in the players.

Kapil Dev

India's first World Cup-winning captain Kapil Dev, on Monday, praised the quality of the Indian cricket team in establishing itself as one of the formidable outfits in world cricket despite losing many of its legendary players over the past few years. Speaking about the current crop of players, he said, "There is no team in the world, after losing their legendary players, bounced back quicker than this Indian team. Normally, once the great players go in a bunch, a team needs at least five to seven years to come back. But this Indian team has come back so quickly, I have never seen something like this. I am amazed," reported PTI.

"Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly, VVS Laxman, Virender Sehwag, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, he has been the most important, all of them have retired one by one," he added.

Kapil was all praise for current Test skipper Virat Kohli, describing the Delhi batsman as a “role model” whom everyone looks up to.

Virat Kohli has taken that responsibility of a super star, he is a role model we all watch growing up.

Kapil Dev

Speaking about Kohli's captaincy, the former Indian skipper said, "He is different from Dhoni, he is very aggressive, the on-our-face expression is there, every captain comes out with his own thinking. He is one player who wants to win all the matches, whose thinking is very positive and that's a great sign for Indian cricket.

"We have seen in Australia when he was ready to chase over 400 runs in the last day and that shows the mindset of a cricketer. He is ready to take the challenge head on."

Kapil, who was one of the finest fast-bowling allrounders India ever had, was, however, concerned about the fitness of the current fast bowlers.

"Fast bowlers' main worry is their fitness. Over last six years so many players have been in and out. Mohammad Shami, Bhuvneshwar Kumar their fitness is always in doubt. So I hope this long season we will see all the fast bowlers in action. They are actually far better than what we used to think."

Speaking from an allrounder's perspective, Kapil also pointed out that Ravichandran Ashwin is the most important player in the team right now. 

He said, "To me he is the team's allrounder, a bowling allrounder. The team depends on him, he is the most important cricketer, he is the one who can change the game singlehandedly," reported PTI.

When asked about coach Anil Kumble, Kapil said that the legendary spinner's inclusion will be good for Indian cricket.

Kapil also expressed his excitement in seeing so many Tests being played in India after a long time.

"I think after a long time we are going to see a home series so big, as a player I always look upto Test cricket which is real cricket. It will be a test of nerves and all the planning and everything you will see in Tests. This reminds me of the 1980s,” he told PTI at an event organized by Star Sports.