Chandigarh, Sep 25 (IANS) Former India cricketer and 2011 World Cup winner Yuvraj Singh’s father, Yograj Singh, has once again stirred controversy by dismissing legendary all-rounder Kapil Dev, saying he neither knows him nor wishes to.

This remark comes months after Yograj admitted in an interview on the YouTube channel Unfiltered by Samdish that he once harboured thoughts of killing Kapil Dev after being dropped from the Indian team in the 1980s. The former all-rounder had played just one Test and six ODIs before fading from the international scene.

Kapil Dev, however, chose to remain unfazed at the time, simply responding: “Kaun hai? Kiski baat kar rahe ho? (Who? Who are you asking about?).”

Speaking to IANS on Thursday, Yograj said: “I don’t know him. If he doesn’t know me, I don’t know Kapil. I only know Yuvraj Singh, Gautam Gambhir, Rahul Dravid, Virender Sehwag – those who are doing so much for cricket. I can talk about them.”

He added: “I don’t want to be friends with anyone, nor do I want anyone to be my friend. I have removed the word ‘friend’ from my dictionary. This is all a fake program.”

Even as his feud with Kapil Dev resurfaces, Yograj also sent out a broader message to Indian cricket. “If you give to the nation, to the world—even if you go hungry yourself but feed someone else—then God opens treasures for you,” he said.

He urged India’s cricketing fraternity to invest in the game’s future: “It shouldn’t just be Kapil Dev. Every cricketer should take this responsibility. If each of them helps produce even a single player for India, then, by God’s grace, the country will have so many great cricketers that in the coming years, no team will be able to defeat India.”

Turning his attention to the younger generation, Yograj praised India’s rising stars after Shubman Gill and Abhishek Sharma’s blistering 105-run opening stand powered India to a six-wicket victory over Pakistan in the Asia Cup Super Fours clash.

“Let me tell you a very simple thing. The way Shubman Gill and Abhishek are playing, even if you have 250 runs, you will chase it. But these two must bat at least 15 overs,” Yograj told IANS.

“If Shubman and Abhishek play for 15 overs, then our target is effectively 200 runs, and after that you can get 300 or whatever. But I will only say one thing to Abhishek – and Yuvraj has also said it many times – try to play for 12 to 15 overs, that’s all.”

–IANS

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