‘I salute Kapil for his effort’

MUMBAI: Legendary leg spinner Abdul Qadir hailed the Indian Cricket League for its monumental effort in lifting the status of T20 cricket. In an exclusive interview to DNA, he blasted the Pakistan Cricket Board for the downslide in the quality of cricket in his country. Excerpts:

What do you make of ICL India team?
I wish I could join the youngsters in the middle and play the game with them. ICL India showed the right attitude throughout the game and the tournament.

Why there are not too many leg-spinners coming from Pakistan?
Mushtaq shared some of my qualities with Saqlain and Danish Kaneria shares some of my traits as well. But the blame goes to the Pakistan Cricket Board for its inept administrators, who fail to nurture spin bowlers. They forget that spinners rule in the subcontinent and they are the match-winners. Take India’s win against South Africa in Kanpur as an example.

How do you rate Shane Warne and Anil Kumble as leg-spinners?
Both are legends. Their records speak for themselves. What is more significant is that both are real statesmen other than pioneers of leg-spin bowling. Their on-field aggression and off-field behaviour is most endearing. I always felt Warne should have been made the skipper of Australia and India is lucky to have Kumble as the captain. Both Dhoni and the youngsters have a lot to learn from the veteran spinner.

Do you feel seniors in the Indian team should make way for youngsters?
I personally feel Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly should be allowed ample time to play their game unless they themselves feel it’s time for them to retire. BCCI should understand they are the most loyal and trusted soldiers to have served India and they demand a fitting farewell. They should be personnaly consulted when they plan to hang their boots and should be given a fitting farewell.

Why is there so much of acrimony amongst players against the PCB?
The non-cricketer lobby is strong in the PCB. In my time, I didn’t know who are the chief selector and the selector. We just had a chairman and a secretary. Today, there are more than 650 people working under the PCB.  Favouratism and personal vendetta have devoured so many talented youngsters. In 2006, when Mohammed Yousuf was at his peak, he was debarred from captaincy. And now, when Shoaib Akhtar doesn’t have five years of cricket to play he is served a ban of five years. Injustice is open in Pakistan and the non-cricketer lobby is getting vicious by the day.

Who are the five greatest batsmen you have bowled against?
There were a plenty of batsmen who played well. But I personally feel Sri Lanka’s Arvinda D’Silva, India’s Mohinder Amarnath and Dilip Vengsarkar, England’s Mike Gatting and West Indies’ Desmond Haynes were better players of leg-spin.

How do you rate Sachin Tendulkar as a batsman?
He is a modern-day genius. In 1989, when he toured Pakistan for the first time I treated him like my younger brother. I had told him that he would shine as a batsman. Unfortunately, afterwards when he toured Pakistan he never bothered to get in touch with me. Nevertheless, he is a great cricketer.

Who according to you has been the best skipper Pakistan has had?
Imran Khan, undoubtedly. He was a fierce competitor and a man who could lift your spirits any moment in the field. He knew how to motivate his men and extract the best from them. Inzamam was a great player, but he fell in my eyes after the Darrell Hair episode.

What is about ICL that you liked the most?
I salute Kapil Dev for the enormous effort he has made to make the event a success. He is an iconoclast and has been a slap on the face of the non-cricketer lobby. The PCB should see how a former cricketer thinks and can only think about the betterment of cricket and nothing else. Kapil has not only lifted the level of cricket in India but has left criket boards in a tizzy to manage international players from participating in competitive cricket. PCB should learn to involve former cricketers and consult them for the betterment of cricket. Else, crikcet is doomed in Pakistan. But for Kapil, I offer him my best wishes.