Three of the four World Cup winning captains nominated West Indian great Clive Lloyd as the best among them.
In a media interaction, organised by Idea Cellular, Allan Border, Imran Khan and Kapil Dev were unanimous in picking the West Indian, who won the first two World Cups in 1975 and 1979.
Border, the winning captain in 1987, said Lloyd had a fantastic record in World Cups which was yet to be matched by anybody.
Superb job
While pitching for the West Indian, 1983 winning captain, Kapil Dev said Lloyd did a great job by leading the West Indies to victory. “Captaining the West Indies was not easy. Lloyd did a marvellous job as a captain by putting players from different countries together to win the cup twice,'' he said.
Imran Khan said Lloyd captained the greatest team in cricketing history.
Kapil had a word of praise for Imran as well. “I have enormous respect for Imran for handling the players of Pakistan.”
He said even Arjuna Ranatunga contributed a lot to make Sri Lankan cricket what it is today. “He was the first guy to come out and give Sri Lanka the confidence to stand up and fight,'' he pointed out. Imran too praised Ranatunga for changing the face of cricket in Sri Lanka.
Speaking on the occasion, Ranatunga, who captained Sri Lanka to victory in the 1996 edition, said he was the lucky one to have learnt a lot from others.
“When I was leading the under-12 side, Lloyd won the first World Cup in 1975. Then when Kapil, Allan and Imran won, I told myself if India can, Pakistan can, why I cannot win the World Cup.
“I learnt a lot from all of them, both good and bad tactics,'' he observed.
But what was Lloyd's take on this?
“You have to see the record over the years. You have to see what Imran, Kapil, Ranatunga and Alan have done over a period. They all are really good as captains,'' said Lloyd.
With the ensuing semifinal clash between India and Pakistan on Wednesday, the discussion turned towards the match. “It should be a good competition and should be an exciting contest. India might have the edge in batting but in terms of fielding and bowling Pakistan is ahead. One who plays well on that day will win the game,'' said Lloyd.
Home advantage
Border said, “I think India-Pakistan rivalry is a step up for the sheer fervour it creates. India is going into the game as a slight favourite. Playing at home is obviously a big advantage.
“But Pakistan also knows the conditions very well at Mohali. It will be a classic contest. It will be a fight between a great Indian batting line-up and the Pakistani bowling.''
Imran said he did not want a one-sided contest.
“I don't want Pakistan to win easily. I predict a Sri Lanka-Pakistan final. Don't get too upset. As long as it is a good match and Pakistan wins, it will be great,'' he said.
And Kapil's riposte was quick. He said there was nothing wrong in dreaming.
When asked whether India would be able to repeat its 1983 feat, Kapil said, “Why not! Everybody goes to the ground with the hope to win. This Indian team has the capability. It has every reason to be there.
“I wish it wins. I am sitting lonely for some many years... One should join me there.''
