Kapil Dev defends Anshul Kamboj after underwhelming debut at Old Trafford

Former Indian World Cup-winning captain Kapil Dev has put his weight behind rookie fast bowler Anshul Kamboj. The fast bowler made his Test debut against England in the fourth Test match at Old Trafford, Manchester but could not grab his opportunity.

The pacer from Haryana returned with figures of 1-89 in the 18 overs he bowled. Kamboj looked underprepared and he could not hit the right areas against the home team. Furthermore, Kamboj also lacked speed in his bowling as he bowled around 130 kmph and thus could not impress many experts.

However, Dev highlighted Kamboj was making his debut, and he would get better with experience.

“What do you expect from a debutant, that he should take 10 wickets? You have to assess his potential. If he’s good enough, he will bounce back. Everyone is nervous when playing their first game. The result may not be ideal, but I believe the ability is there, and that’s more important,” said Kapil Dev at the launch of the second-half schedule of the Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI).

On the other hand, Kapil Dev also urged the experts to give some more time to Shubman Gill, as this is his maiden Test series as a skipper.

“Give him time. This is his first series, he will commit mistakes and there will be many positives over the period of time, he will learn. There is no problem if he is learning. There will be mistakes, but he is learning from his mistakes, that is very important,” he said.

The former Indian all-rounder said the Anderson-Tendulkar series is a learning curve for the young Indian team.

“This is a young team, they are getting the opportunity to play and in the coming days these players will win. It is just a new team. Any new team in the world takes time to adjust. Gill is a new captain, and he will learn a lot and I think this series will be a learning step,” said Kapil Dev.

The fifth and final Test match between England and India will be played at the Kennington Oval, London, from 31st July onwards.