Kapil Dev Ramlal Nikhanj is one of the greatest all-rounders that the Indian Cricket team has ever produced. His consistent performance as a bowler brought him into the limelight. With the passing of years, he proved his merit as a batsman too. However, he is remembered best in the history of world cricket for being the first Indian captain to lead the Indian cricket team to the finals of the 1983 World Cup, and after defeating the powerful West Indies, becoming the world champion for the first time in Indian Cricket. Know about the latest trending cricket news of Kapil Dev for detailed history.
KAPIL DEV: THE LIVING LEGEND OF THE INDIAN CRICKET
After his debut in the Indian Cricket team in 1978, Kapil Dev became a dependable soldier of the team, especially in test matches. His sense of discipline and proper fitness quotient was always appreciated by the selectors. As a result, he was never dropped from any test matches during his career for fitness issues. He was a fast-medium bowler, apart from being a middle-order batsman. Kapil Dev always inspired his team with energetic lethal outswings and aggressive athletic fielding. The cricketing video of his legendary deliveries in different matches is still shown to aspiring cricketers. He is still remembered as the best all-rounder of his time for scoring more than 5000 runs, besides taking 400 wickets in Test cricket.
Kapil Dev’s extraordinary captainship during the 1983 World Cup is the most glorious chapter in the history of Indian Cricket. When the team was going through a devastating phase, this man took the sole responsibility upon his shoulders to boast the morale of the team. His fascinating counter-attack strategy in the match against Zimbabwe, when the team was losing hope with just 17 for 5, is something that stunned the world. He alone tore off the Zimbabwean bowlers by scoring 175* out of just 138 balls. That was undoubtedly the best performance of Kapil Dev in One Day international. Dev’s strong captainship generated the required momentum for the Indian team and from a whimper, they roared to defeat West indies at the league stages, England at the semi-final, and ultimately west Indies again in the Final.
Dev started his career playing for the Haryana team in 1975. His stupendous performance, 121 wickets in just 30 matches, in that season prepared the platform for a bigger scope. In the next season, he had a sparkling match haul of 8/36. He gave his best when he played against Bengal in the pre-semifinals in the 1976-77 season, in just 9 overs his haul was 8/20. In the 1977-78 season, he made a striking performance with his maiden 10-wicket haul, his first in first-class cricket. This type of consistently stunning performance was enough to get selected for the national team in 1978. Dev made his presence felt in the arena of Test cricket with his appearance in Faisalabad against Pakistan on October 16, 1978.
Kapil Dev also created a permanent niche in the history of cricket through his international cricket performances. He played county cricket in England from 1981 to 1985. He achieved the remarkable feat of 2312 runs and 103 wickets in the 64 innings that he played in county cricket. From 1981 to 1983 he represented Northamptonshire and in the 1984 and 1985 seasons, he played for Worcestershire. A total of 40 first-class matches in county cricket with brilliant performance proved the merit of this extraordinary cricketer.
Dev’s debut as the captain of the Indian cricket team took place against Sri Lanka in the season 1982-83 when the cricket board decided to give Sunil Gavaskar a rest from captaincy. Unfortunately, Dev could not retain his merit as a captain immediately after the historic achievement in the 1983 World Cup and Gavaskar was reappointed as the captain of the Indian team in early 1984. However, Dev’s unparalleled dedication to the game soon turned the wind in his favor, and he regained his captaincy in March 1985.
This period saw one of his greatest performances in the Second tied Test in 1986 against Australia, and he shared the Man of the Match trophy with the Australian cricketer, Dean Jones. He was also able to pull a test series win against England in the same year. Although he retained captaincy when India participated in the 1987 World Cup, India was knocked out of the game in the semi-final by England. This was the last match where India played under the guidance of Kapil Dev. The pressure of captaincy affected his performance as a bowler and so the cricket board relieved him of the responsibility. However, he was made the Vice-captain of the Indian team on India’s Pakistan tour in 1989.
Awards and Achievements
Kapil Dev has achieved several records in his cricket career. In his third test match against Pakistan, his unique style of batting fetched him the fastest half-century in test cricket. He is still considered to be the youngest captain to win the world cup for any team in the history of international cricket. He was only 24 years old when he brought this rare honor to the Indian team. Kapil Dev also holds the record for taking maximum wickets in both test matches and ODIs. He shared his valuable experience as an all-rounder with the Indian cricket team when he was appointed the coach of the Indian team for one year from September 1999 to September 2000. Dev’s achievement and contribution to Indian cricket placed him in the ICC Hall of Fame on March 11, 2010. He received the prestigious Padma Shri award in 1982 and the Padma Bhushan award in 1991.
Post-retirement life
After he retired from his cricket career, Kapil Dev became the coach of the Indian National team. However, after a controversy related to match-fixing, he resigned from the position. In 2008, he joined as an honorary officer in the Indian Territorial Army. Finally, in 2019, Dev was appointed as the chancellor of the Sports University in Haryana.
Kapil Dev is a man with a down-to-earth attitude and a golden heart. He did not confine himself within the limits of cricket and showed considerable talent in golf too. After taking up golf in 1993, he became the only Indian member among the 40 founding members of the Laureus Foundation in 2000. He will always be remembered as the man who proved to the world India’s superpower in the field of cricket.
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