Chandigarh, Sep 25 (NationPress) Former Indian cricketer and 2011 World Cup champion Yuvraj Singh’s father, Yograj Singh, has once again ignited controversy by stating that he neither knows nor has any desire to know the iconic all-rounder Kapil Dev. This statement follows Yograj's earlier admission during an interview on the YouTube channel Unfiltered by Samdish, where he revealed he once contemplated harming Kapil Dev after being excluded from the national team in the 1980s. Yograj had a brief international career, featuring in just one Test match and six ODIs.

In response to Yograj's comments, Kapil Dev remained unperturbed, simply asking: “Kaun hai? Kiski baat kar rahe ho?” (Who? Who are you talking about?).

In a recent conversation with IANS, Yograj stated: “I don’t know him. If he doesn’t know me, I don’t know Kapil. I only know Yuvraj Singh, Gautam Gambhir, Rahul Dravid, Virender Sehwag – those who are doing so much for cricket. I can talk about them.”

He further elaborated: “I don’t want to be friends with anyone, nor do I want anyone to be my friend. I have removed the word ‘friend’ from my dictionary. This is all a fake program.”

Despite the resurfacing of his conflict with Kapil Dev, Yograj extended a broader message to the Indian cricket community. “If you give to the nation, to the world—even if you go hungry yourself but feed someone else—then God opens treasures for you,” he remarked.

He encouraged the cricketing community in India to play a role in the sport's future: “It shouldn’t just be Kapil Dev. Every cricketer should take this responsibility. If each of them helps produce even a single player for India, then, by God’s grace, the country will have so many great cricketers that in the coming years, no team will be able to defeat India.”

Shifting focus to the younger generation, Yograj praised the rising talents in Indian cricket, particularly highlighting the impactful performance by Shubman Gill and Abhishek Sharma, whose remarkable 105-run opening partnership led India to a six-wicket victory over Pakistan in the Asia Cup Super Fours clash.

“Let me tell you a very simple thing. The way Shubman Gill and Abhishek are playing, even if you have 250 runs, you will chase it. But these two must bat at least 15 overs,” Yograj advised IANS.

“If Shubman and Abhishek play for 15 overs, then our target is effectively 200 runs, and after that you can get 300 or whatever. But I will only say one thing to Abhishek – and Yuvraj has also said it many times – try to play for 12 to 15 overs, that’s all.”