Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, MS Dhoni transformed Indian cricket: Kapil Dev

New Delhi: The 1983 World Cup winning captain Kapil Dev has credited Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag and MS Dhoni for changing the face of Indian cricket.

Dev believes Tendulkar, Sehwag and Dhoni have played crucial roles in transforming the way the sport had been played.

Speaking to International Business Times in Bengaluru, Dev said, "All three are different kinds of cricketers. They brought a new generation of people to the grounds. That was very important. Sachin was instrumental, playing for 24 years and inspiring so many people to take up the game. Virender Sehwag changed the style of modern-day cricket."

Dev, who hails from a small town in Haryana, feels it was Dhoni's rise that gave hopes to youngsters from small cities and towns to dream of representing the country. "And Dhoni, coming from a small town, made it big. Every Indian now feels he can belong to a small town and still dream of becoming like Dhoni," he stated.

The 58-year old all-rounder heaped praises for the current Indian cricket team whom despite crisis situation at the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) over the Lodha Panel reforms. He also feels that the way Kohli has set a benchmark for players fitness is remarkable and highly appreciable.

"Well done, Team India. We can feel happy today. Indian team is once again dominating world cricket in every format of the game. Despite so many issues in the board, in the court, the players are performing well. As a person who always believes in fitness, it is nice to see this. Cricket has reached such a level that your fitness is more important than your ability to get runs or wickets. That is a huge change in our country," concluded Dev.