Yograj Singh has targetted Kapil Dev, accusing him of sabotaging his cricketing career.
The biggest of them is that Kapil sabotaged Yograj’s career by dropping him from the team when the former all-rounder had become the captain of India, North Zone, and Haryana. He also publicly mocked the former captain, claiming that his son, Yuvraj Singh, had won more important trophies in his career while Kapil had only the 1983 World Cup to his name. Yuvraj Singh even apologized for his father's inflammatory comments.
When Kapil Dev spoke on a podcast with Vikrant Gupta for Sports Tak, he stated that Yuvraj did not need to apologize.
While stating that he was still Yograj's friend, he added that he would not want to meet bitter people in his life, alluding to his former teammate's personality.
"There is no need for him to apologize" (Yuvraj on his father's behalf). Some things happen. He is a great cricketer and was a fabulous player. He made the game more popular. I am still Yograj's friend. But I don't like to meet bitter people in life. I like to meet happy people. One has to move on in life. If you are bitter, people won't love you. His son has done so well. He should be happy,” Kapil said on the Sports Tak podcast.
"Yes, you don't get everything, but at the end of the day, you should not be a bitter person. Your reactions determine who you are. He is my childhood friend. We are on different paths, so what? We had a great time. Life keeps changing. We have grown up together and had a fabulous time. You should not forget the good days. Sometimes you become so bitter, and you forget that,” he added.
Kapil Dev and Yograj Singh were teammates on India's 1980-1981 tour of Australia and New Zealand. Yograj's international career was brief, including only one Test and six One-Day Internationals.
Kapil Dev also responded to a query about allegations of feuds between himself and his former teammate and famous batter Sunil Gavaskar. He added that there were no schisms between them and that he holds a high regard for his former teammate.
Furthermore, he stated that it was OK for a senior player to criticize someone after they had played together for a long time. In fact, he complimented Gavaskar on his services to Indian cricket.
"Absolutely never. Even today, if Sunil comes in front of me, I will stand up. The media did its job back then as well. You can't say that because the thought process is different; you won't respect someone. What Sunil Gavaskar has given to India, I don't think any player can even come close to. I don't ever remember him telling me anything, really. If you have played for 15-20 years together and a senior player comes and scolds you at times, it is fine. And getting angry is also fine," he said.
Kapil Dev and Sunil Gavaskar were part of the legendary Indian team that won the 1983 World Cup and played together from 1978, when Kapil Dev debuted, to 1987, when Sunil Gavaskar retired.