'It pains me to see a player getting tired after bowling just 4 overs': Kapil Dev on lack of all-rounders in India

A country that once produced the one of the best all-rounders ever seen in Kapil Dev, why is it that it's currently struggling to find a genuine match-winner who can contribute with both bat and ball like Ben Stokes or Kyle Jamieson?

One of the many debates to have emerged following India's loss to New Zealand in the final of the World Test Championship final is a potential dearth of fast-bowling all-rounders in India. This first gained steam after former cricketers felt that India missed a trick by adding Ravindra Jadeja in the Playing XI, whereas Shardul Thakur could have been an ideal mix. With no Hardik Pandya in the squad for England tour, Thakur was the only genuine fast bowler who could bat, but he was left out of the preliminary 15-member squad for the WTC final as well.

Former India captain Kapil Dev highlights the difference in cricket now and then. (Getty Images)

Fast-bowling all-rounders aside, India are currently lacking a genuine player who can contribute with both bat and ball, barring Jadeja and the Pandya brothers. Jadeja may be the No. 1-ranked Test all-rounder in the world, but after him, the stocks appear slightly weak. Even the limited-overs squad that is in Sri Lanka isn't exactly rich on all-rounders. A country that once produced the one of the best all-rounders ever seen in Kapil Dev, why is it that it's currently struggling to find a genuine match-winner who can contribute with both bat and ball like Ben Stokes or Kyle Jamieson? Hear from the 1983 World Cup winning captain himself.

"What I feel is that when you play 10 months of rigorous cricket in a year, you tend to get injured more. And cricket today is very basic – batsmen want to bat and bowlers want to bat. In our time, we had to do everything. So cricket today has changed. Sometimes it saddens me to see a player getting tired after bowling just four overs and I've heard they're not allowed to bowl more than three or four overs," Kapil said in a discussion with India Today.

Acknowledging how much the game has evolved since the time Kapil stopped playing, the former India captain, not dwelling on the right and wrong, reckons that in demanding times such as today, it is not possible to hit the ground running all the time. But having said that, the reason India's 1983 World Cup winning squad had so many all-rounders is because there was no workload restriction, while today, the concept of 'workload management' has taken major precedence.

"I remember in our time – I won't say whether it's right or wrong – even the last player who would come out and bat, we would bowl at least 10 overs to them. That mindset should be there and that helps build muscles. Today perhaps those four overs are enough for them so we feel – our generation – feel a bit strange," Kapil pointed out.