Legendary all-rounder Kapil Dev on Tuesday said that Australia would have an edge over India in the pink-ball day-night Test match, starting at the Adelaide Oval on Thursday.
Kapil said knowing the conditions well would help the host. “Australia has an edge because they are playing in their backyard. If you say they are playing pink ball in India, then I would say, 80% India would beat Australia. They have played so many Test matches there, they understand the conditions better during the night,” Kapil said during a webinar organized by the Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC).
Asked about the pace department of both sides, Kapil said, “They are on par, maybe (Australians have) a little bit of edge. Our fast bowlers are not used to bowling in Australia. Sometimes they get carried away when they see a little bit of bounce and start bowling short. They (Australians) understand conditions better than our fast bowlers.”
Looking back, Kapil was happy to be one of the first cricketers to wear a sponsor’s logo. “In the 1987 World Cup, six cricketers for the first time wore a logo and got a lakh of rupees (each). Today they sell it for ₹300 crore. I feel proud about that.”
Kapil took pride in his 1983 World Cup winning team. “In a team, we need people with a great sense of humour. If everybody will be disciplined like Sachin (Tendulkar) or Rahul (David) or Sunil Gavaskar, the game will never go ahead. People like Srikanth or Sandeep Patil used to laugh at anything. They used to make the dressing room so easy. You need all kinds of people. In the 1983 team we had great characters,” said Kapil.
