Former India World Cup-winning captain and Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI) president Kapil Dev said here on Tuesday (March 18) that he recommends all of his cricketing friends to try their hand at golf in their free time as it can help them improve their concentration. Dev explained that, unlike a 360-degree sport like cricket, golf has a much shorter end goal and thus requires athletes to offer much better focus. Dev was speaking at the media day for the Kapil Dev GrantThorton Invitational in the Central Secretariat area of the capital. The event is returning for its third edition at the Prestige Golfshire in Bengaluru in April. The event will introduce a ground-breaking mixed format this year, where the top men and women professionals in the country will compete together for the prize purse of Rs. 2 crore. “When you play golf, your concentration increases,” Dev said. “I played cricket at the highest level but when I started playing golf, I realized that you need 100 times more concentration because the target is very small. Cricket is 360 degrees, here there’s a very small hole where you have to reach at the end. So your concentration increases. I say to all my cricket friends that if you ever get a chance to go and play golf, on an off day, it’ll help you improve. Playing other sports will always help you,” he added. Also present at the event were Vishesh C. Chandiok, the CEO of Grant Thornton Bharat, a consulting firm, Amandeep Johl, the CEO of PGTI, the winner of the second edition last year, Karan Pratap and one of India’s best women’s golfers, Tvesa Malik. Malik said she was excited for the opportunity to prove herself against the best men’s and women’s golfers in the country. On the other hand, Chandiok, Bharat and Dev gave details about the tournament and how they planned to make it more engaging and inviting to younger audiences in the country. They also said that the involvement of cricketers like MS Dhoni, Yuvraj Singh and Harbhajan Singh, among others over the years, it’s a part of the process. “The world is changing. I am delighted to see women’s participation coming in. It should not happen only in India but all over the world. The women are part and parcel of our lives and in some sports, they are far better than us. I am very happy that Grant Thornton has taken this step to bring women into that. Tomorrow, under PGTI, a lot of other tournaments will also like to follow this path,” Dev added. The tournament will kickstart with a practice round on April 23, followed by a three-day, 72-hole championship from April 24-26, where 60 men and 12 women professionals will compete. The event will feature three Pro-Am rounds in a rotational format. each Pro-Am team will comprise one professional and three amateurs. Prize money will be awarded to the top three professionals in the Pro-Am standings.