Chandigarh, March 16
“Sky is the limit for cricketer Munaf Patel, provided he exploits his talent in positive way. Though it will be too early to make any opinion about him after watching just one Test, but he has the ability to take 10 wickets in a match and that can make him bigger than the “Rawalpindi Express” Shoaib Akhtar. Though no comparison can be made at this point of time between the two remarkably precise fast bowlers. Shoaib has earned name in the game with sheer hardship in a span of 20 years and Munaf is just a beginner and has to go a long way to come up to or above that level. The media should also give him time and space so that he could concentrate on honing his skill only,” said former captain of the Indian team Kapil Dev here today.
On being asked about the Ganguly-Chappell spat, he said media was responsible for it. “The difference of opinion used to happen in our times also and sometimes the scuffle did go out of the dressing room even, but the media was not big enough then, I suppose. It is part of the game and should not be given much significance in the interest of the game.”
However, he chose to reserve his comments on Chairman of the selection committee Kiran More’s statement against Ganguly and later his deviating from it. He said, “It is his individual thinking. Though it is team effort that wins matches, but it is always the captain who is a pivot around whom the whole team revolves. The contribution of Sourav Ganguly in taking the Indian cricket to such heights cannot be ignored. I think the player should be given his due respect. Sourav faces a “big challenge” in regaining his position in the side.”
About the coach’s contribution in building up a team, he said, “Coach is a person who mans the management of whole affairs, he can only tell you the techniques and strategies to be adopted in a given situation but it is the talent of individuals that finally matters.”
The greatest all-rounder India has ever produced agrees that there is no dearth of talent in the country and the need of the hour is to find that hidden talent in small towns. “In the present team, I have a lot of hope from Irfan Pathan and Mahendra Singh Dhoni,” he remarked.
Reacting to Rahul Dravid’s taking over the reins of the side, he inferred that the appointment of a new captain should not be a short-term decision. “A longer period at the helm would provide a conducive atmosphere to deliver results, and ‘winning matches’ should be the habit of any successful team,” he said.
