Kapil Dev: 'Good to see an Indian fast bowler at number one'

Kapil Dev admits to have misjudged Jasprit Bumrah's potential and says "he is really fantastic".

Kapil Dev signs the largest bat that won the Guinness world record.

As the Met Office in the United Kingdom predicted showers across the nation on Sunday, it - to the relief of many cricket fans - also added that Manchester might be one of the few cities that is spared from the downpour.

Former India skipper, Kapil Dev, too, hopes the weather will be favourable and trusts India to deliver a positive result against Pakistan. “I would like to keep my fingers crossed. India is far better and needs to keep on playing the same way. When I was playing, Pakistan was better than us. Today, India will win seven out of 10 times. I hope the players play to their potential. We cannot lose,” said Kapil at an event at Phoenix Marketcity in Chennai to unveil the world's largest cricket bat.

Kapil, who captained India to its first World Cup win in 1983, reposed his faith on current captain Virat Kohli and said: “He (Virat Kohli) is too good. I don’t think I can compare myself with him. He is the number-one player. We are proud. Good luck to the team! I hope they don’t meet with any more injuries.”

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Kapil, clearly impressed with the efforts put in by Jasprit Bumrah, admits that he had misjudged the bowler’s potential. “He is the number one bowler. When I saw him first, I never thought he will do so well. I change my word – he is really fantastic. With such a short run up and an awkward action, it is not very easy to produce that much pace. Bowling so well is not easy. I just want him to be fit for the upcoming years,” he said. “We always depended on batsmen to win matches. But bowlers win matches (for us now). It is good to see an Indian fast bowler at number one.” 

The allrounder also came out in defence of Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who courted controversy for sporting a “military” insignia on his wicketkeeping gloves. “He must have not realised that it will be such a big thing. You must go through the system and respect the law and the ICC. I respect Dhoni. He showed the passion and love for his country and the army. There’s nothing wrong in that.”