Kapil Dev hails Sachin Tendulkar, says 'if you are talented but not hard-working, you can go the Vinod Kambli way'

A World Cup winner, there is no batting record which Sachin does not hold, and pointing out the importance of maximising one's talent and utilising it with hard-work, Kapil Dev stressed how Tendulkar kept working on the same for over two decades, which made him the legend he turned out to be.

The legendary Kapil Dev has lauded the great Sachin Tendulkar, calling the Indian batting legend the perfect example of talent and hard-work. Having started at the tender age of 16, Tendulkar went on to become India’s greatest batter of all time, scoring over 34000 runs and 100 international centuries during a 24-year-old career. A World Cup winner, there is no batting record which Tendulkar does not hold, and pointing out the importance of maximising one’s talent and utilising it with hard-work, Kapil stressed how Tendulkar kept working on the same for over two decades, which made him the legend he turned out to be.

Kapil Dev hailed Sachin Tendulkar and brought up Vinod Kambli.  (Getty Images)

"Sometimes, youngsters take up something to impress others. I believe that it is important to love yourself first and bring passion to whatever you like. There are no substitutes for passion, hard work and commitment. Sachin Tendulkar is the perfect example of talent plus hard work. If you are talented but not hard-working enough, then you can go the Vinod Kambli way. If your destiny is beautiful, why worry about the road ahead," Kapil was quoted as saying by Entertainment Times during an interaction with students of Parul University last week.

As far as Kapil's own career is concerned, he is the greatest cricketer ever produced by India. It has been 28 long years since Kapil retired but India haven't come close to finding an all-rounder of his calibre. Looking back at his own career, Kapil stressed on the importance of achieving one’s dream if he/she is to succeed.

"I don’t believe in speaking much and I have always been a man of action. I believe that if you are passionate enough, you can achieve anything. While practicing as a youngster, I would play for hours and I wouldn’t know the difference between day and night. I would wonder why I couldn’t carry on playing at night. When you love something, you forget about the time and everything else," mentioned Kapil.