Indian cricket legend Kapil Dev has launched a scathing attack on the current Test team’s batting frailties, accusing the country’s top players of being “more occupied with T20s and ODIs” and no longer possessing the patience or technique of icons like Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman. Speaking to Sportstar in the wake of India’s humiliating 0-2 home series defeat to South Africa, the 1983 World Cup-winning captain questioned whether modern stars are even playing enough domestic cricket to learn how to survive on bowler-friendly pitches. “I just want to know how many of today’s top players are playing domestic cricket. That’s the most crucial thing,” Kapil said, pointing to the absence of the grinding first-class exposure that once produced masters of occupation.

Kapil drew a stark generational contrast, arguing that Dravid, Laxman, Sunil Gavaskar, Ravi Shastri, and Mohinder Amarnath honed their defensive crafts by regularly facing quality bowlers on varied domestic surfaces. Today’s batters, he claimed, rarely encounter such conditions because of an overcrowded white-ball calendar and the lure of the IPL. The result, he said, is a batting unit that collapses repeatedly on turning tracks—evidenced by India being bowled out for sub-200 scores in three of the last four home tests against New Zealand and South Africa. “You do not have batters like Dravid and Laxman who knew how to stay at the wicket. Batting in tests is about staying in the middle,” he stressed.

The former all-rounder also criticized the extreme nature of recent Indian pitches, where matches have finished inside three days and no team has crossed 250. “What is the point of having a pitch where no team crosses 200? You lose the toss and lose the game,” Kapil said, arguing that such surfaces expose technical deficiencies rather than reward skill. He insisted that playing spin well demands superior footwork and temperament compared to facing pace, and that the current generation is ill-equipped because it rarely practices the art of long-form survival.

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Kapil defended aggressive players like Rishabh Pant, saying natural stroke-makers should not be forced into defensive molds. “If your temperament is to go and hit like Pant, it is different. You cannot ask Pant to defend. He is a genuine match-winner,” he said, adding that Pant’s six-hitting ability should be celebrated rather than curbed. However, he maintained that every team still needs anchors capable of batting an entire day—something India currently lacks.

The 66-year-old expressed disbelief at India losing home series to New Zealand and South Africa within 13 months, calling for better preparation and a return to the fundamentals that made India a Test powerhouse. “We should have prepared better. Test cricket is different,” he said, indirectly echoing widespread criticism of the BCCI’s scheduling priorities and the selection committee’s apparent preference for IPL form over red-ball pedigree.

Kapil Dev’s blunt assessment has reignited the debate over India’s transition era following the retirements of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, with many former players agreeing that domestic cricket must once again become non-negotiable for Test aspirants. As the team shifts focus to white-ball assignments, his words serve as a stark reminder that restoring red-ball dominance will require a fundamental rethink of how India’s next generation of Test batters is groomed.

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