Tamil Nadu - Madurai   

Kapil comes out in prudential form

T. Saravanan

"Be honest to yourself, it will take you to greater heights"

WITH THE `HARYANA HURRICANE': A student interacting with Kapil Dev in Madurai on Tuesday. — Photo: K. Ganesan

MADURAI: Velammal Matriculation School had one of the illustrious sons of the country, Kapil Dev as the chief guest to inaugurate its sports council on Tuesday.

After customary wishes, he surprised everyone when he started his speech with a "vanakkam" in chaste Tamil. He had tonnes of advice for students, as he wanted them not only to dream, but also find ways to realise them.

Reminiscing his school days, he said, "I hardly studied. I was determined to play cricket for the country and I did exactly that. Unless you try hard you will not be able to realise your ability." He did not find it tough to take on the volley of questions posed by the students at a lively interactive session.

C.R. Murali Sreenivasan of Standard IX did bowl a tricky one when he asked, "Why is the Indian team not consistent in its performance?"

He replied, "We did not play to our potential. Self-belief is more important in crunch situations."

To another query, "Should Sehwag and Tendulkar continue to play in Indian team?" he could not but appreciate the student's deep thinking.

"Which international cricket team is your favourite?" "It was West Indies in the past, for they were fabulous cricketers. But now I like to watch Australians playing. The main reason is both these teams have made winning a habit."

He accepted the fact that he would not have preferred any other profession. "I was born to play cricket," he asserted.

Sports council

B. Chandrasekaran, Principal, said that the inauguration of Velammal's Sports Council assumed significance, as it was a recommending body to obtain education scholarships for outstanding sportspersons from the management. At the end of the event, Kapil Dev's parting shot was: "Be honest to yourself, it will take you to greater heights."

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