Did Kapil Dev take a sly dig at Virat Kohli?

Former Indian skipper Virat Kohli has recently opened up about his mental health after he made a much-awaited comeback having taken a month-long sabbatical before the Asia Cup 2022. He had been struggling for runs all throughout the year 2022, but after the break runs started to flow out of Kohli’s bat once again. 

More recently, Team India’s World Cup-winning captain Kapil Dev appeared to possibly take a sly dig at Kohli while speaking about the pressure on modern-day cricketers. 

The former India all-rounder, widely considered one of the all-time greats, has advised Indian players to avoid playing in the Indian Premier League (IPL) if it has an impact on the players’ mental and physical well-being. 

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Known to be one to never mince his words, Dev while speaking at a felicitation ceremony at Taj Hotel, remarked that he doesn’t understand terms like ‘Depression’. 

“I hear a lot of times on TV that there’s a lot of pressure on players to play in the IPL. Then I only say one thing, don’t play. If a player has passion, there will be no pressure. I can’t understand these American terms, like depression. I’m a farmer and we play because we enjoy the game, and there can’t be any pressure while enjoying the game,” said the 1983 World Cup-winning skipper. 

Nailed it @therealkapildev pic.twitter.com/Wbs86nyEQh
— Aces Middle East (@Aces_sports) October 8, 2022

Earlier, Kohli had candidly talked about his mental health after he made his return following a break from cricket. 

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“For the first time in 10 years, I didn’t touch my bat for a month”, said Kohli while speaking to Star Sports.

“When I sat down and thought about it I was like, ‘wow, I haven’t touched a bat for like 30 days’. I haven’t ever done that in my life,” added the 33-year-old. 

“I came to the realisation that I was trying to fake my intensity a bit recently. I was convincing myself that no, you had the intensity. But your body is telling you to stop. Your mind is telling me to take a break and step back,” he had stated further. 

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Kohli is currently with the Indian team in Perth as they prepare for the T20 World Cup 2022.