Kapil Dev on Ashish Nehra's retirement: Every sportsperson deserves a fitting farewell

New Delhi, Nov 1: Former India captain Kapil Dev feels every senior cricketer should get a fitting farewell like Ashish Nehra, who is going to retire today as India play New Zealand in the first T20 international at Feroz Shah Kotla here on Wednesday (November 1).

Teammates laud Nehra

Speaking on the sidelines of an event at a hotel in the national capital the legendary cricketer, while responding to a question from MyKhel, said,"It's very pleasing to see Ashish Nehra is getting such a beautiful farewell.

"I feel every cricketer or sportsperson, for that matter, wishes that he should be honoured and treated with respect whenever he decides to retire.

"Nehra is very lucky to have served the nation and I wish him all the very best. I want every sportsperson gets the same treatment whenever he/she decides to hang up his boots and we acknowledge their contribution and service towards the nation. So, for Nehra and not just him, whenever a cricketer or a sportsperson retires we should give him a fitting farewell."

Nehra, who was picked up for the T20I series against New Zealand, announced that he'll retire after the first T20I at Feroz Shah Kotla. The veteran India pacer had earlier mentioned that he will be quitting the game in front of his home crowd on November 1.

Young India all-rounder Hardik Pandya has been widely hailed as the next Kapil Dev in the making and the legendary all-rounder has often praised him.

When asked if too much of experimentation with Pandya's batting order would hamper the youngster's performance, the former India coach said the team management must be having some plans in place for the youngster and we should have faith in the team management's decision.

"We can only assume from the outside because it is very easy to talk and comment upon that from here. Hardik Pandya is a great talent and the team management must be thinking very important for him.

"The reason why cricket is so popular in our country is due to the fact that we have our opinions about the cricketers. And we preach those who are, perhaps, the best in the business. Somethings should be left for the Team India to decide, and we hope that whatever steps they are taking are for the betterment of Indian cricket.

When asked about India's pace twins Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuneshwar Kumar and their success in the limited overs format, the former pacer said he's very surprised with the evolution of a talent like Bumrah.

"When I first saw Bumrah bowl, I wondered if this kid would ever succeed in international cricket with such an awkward action. But this kid has changed our thought process. Today we sit and discuss if the players with simple actions would survive. In fact, players with different or strange bowling action can last longer, if they have the ability and determination.

Kapil once again stressed that the game is evolving with the change in the generation and that is the beauty of the game.

"We never thought if Sunil Gavaskar's records could be broken but then we saw Sachin Tendulkar and he bettered those records. Two years ago, did we ever thought if Sachin's record could ever be matched or surpassed? But we have someone now (Kapil hinted towards Virat Kohli).

"So the game is evolving with every generation and breaking the records that we once considered were unbeatable.

A common question that surfaces in any media interaction these days is about the future of Test cricket, especially in times of T20Is. To this, Dev, a veteran of 131 Tests opined Test cricket is like a classic movie and its flavour will never be outdated.

"You like classical movies even in the times of modern movies, same is the case with Test cricket. Other forms of cricket will come, but Test cricket is here to stay."