"When Sachin started his career, Kapil told him he won't even play for 10 years; rest is history"

KAPIL DEV has done what many others have done in the past - taking a dig at Sachin Tendulkar and questioning his cricketing abilities. 

He may have his own reasons to do so and believes Tendulkar could have achieved more than what he did, given the kind of talent he was blessed it.

Here are the exact words of Kapil Dev on Sachin at a recent gathering in Dubai:

"He (Sachin) got stuck with Bombay cricket. He didn't apply himself to ruthless international cricket. I think he should have spent more time with Vivian Richards than some of the Bombay guys who played just neat and straight cricket. He did not know how to make double hundreds, triple hundreds and 400 though he had the ability, and was stuck in the Mumbai school of cricket. Had I spent more time with him (Tendulkar), I would have told him 'go enjoy yourself, play like Virender Sehwag'," Kapil was quoted by Khaleej Times.

However, Kapil's criticism hasn't gone down too well with former 'Mumbai' cricketers. Former India and Mumbai captain, Ajit Wadekar, felt Kapil's comments showed dislike towards Mumbai cricket and cricketers, as has been the case earlier.

"Yes, in a way, I can sense that dislike. I have been experiencing it since my University cricket days. A lot of Northern players disliked us. They enjoyed staying in Mumbai, but not playing against Mumbai. In the final analysis, Sachin scored the maximum runs and is a true legend, and where Mumbai cricket is concerned, - we always - everyone including Sachin and Sunil Gavaskar - played for the team and not for ourselves. That's why we won the Ranji Trophy 40 times. We knew how to win," Wadekar was quoted by NDTV.

Even former Mumbai cricketer Raju Kulkarni found Kapil's criticism 'absurd'.

"I find Kapil's comments absurd. It's also very unfair to Sachin and Mumbai cricket. He's talking about centuries of a man who has scored 100 international tons. We were brought up with our seniors telling us that when you get a hundred, go on and get a double and a triple, but don't give your wicket away," said Kulkarni, who made his Test debut in 1986 when Kapil was leading India.

Dilip Vengsarkar, former cricketer and vice-president of Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) preferred to keep it short.

"That's his (Kapil's) opinion. What can one say?"

But fans of the batting legend were furious with Kapil, and here's how they reacted on Twitter:

@TheRealKapilDev pls return the 1983 WC to the government.

— Trendulkar (@Trendulkar) October 30, 2015

but kapil dev ji, sachin tendulkar made 6 test double hundreds & the first one was with you as coach! he also made the first 200 in ODIs!

— Gaurav Kalra (@gauravkalra75) October 29, 2015

Including cricket expert Ayaz Memon:

Kapil's assessment of @sachin_rt flawed. Dont think making triple centuries is yardstick. Viv Richards didn't either https://t.co/dnc964EuAK

— Cricketwallah (@cricketwallah) October 29, 2015

Reaached Kapil Dev's home with stones in hand.

— Commitment Chikna (@Madan_Chikna) October 29, 2015

When Sachin Tendulkar started his career, Kapil Dev told him that he can't even play for 10 years and rest is history 😂😂😂

— LoKrLoBaat (@LoKrLoBaat) October 29, 2015

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