Kapildev Ramlal Nikhanj is the best all-rounder India has ever produced and one of the greatest all rounders in the history of the game. He was a right handed batsman and a right arm medium pace bowler. Also known as the Hurriyana Hurricane, he was also one of the best outswing bowlers of World cricket. A skilful medium pace bowler, a hard hitting middle order batsman, a brilliant versatile fielder and an intuitive captain who led by example, Kapil Dev was as close to the complete cricketer as one can get.
Born on 6th January 1959 in Chandigarh, he started playing for Haryana in the Indian domestic cricket in 1974 and represented India in 1978. He also played for Northamptonshire and Worcestershire during his county stints in England.
Coming from a small town where nobody was keen on cricket and also from a family with no cricketing background, it took him a lot of hard work to motivate himself to play the game at the highest level.
He made his test debut against Pakistan at Faisalabad in 1978-79 and his ODI debut against Pakistan at Quetta in the same series. Kapil burst upon the scene even as the famed spin quartet was breaking up and was the country’s premier strike bowler for well over a decade.
Kapil Dev was a truly dynamic cricketer who shaped many Indian triumphs during his long and arduous career (arduous because he did not get much support in the bowling department from other bowlers for most of his career), which stretched from 1978 to 1994. His dedication and passion to the game and his eagerness to face challenges were his strongest characteristics. The most trying times have almost always brought out the best in him.
Kapil’s records speaks for themselves - scoring 5000+ runs and taking 434 wickets in tests and scoring close to 4000 runs and taking 253 wickets in one dayers is no mean feat.
Kapil’s career statistics are as follows :
Tests
M I NO Runs HS Ave 100 50 Ct St
Batting & Fldg 131 184 15 5248 163 31.05 8 27 64 0
O M R W Ave BBI 5 10 SR Econ
Bowling 4623 1060 12867 434 29.64 9-83 23 2 63.9 2.78
ODIs
M I NO Runs HS Ave SR 100 50 Ct St
Batting & Fielding 225 198 39 3783 175* 23.79 95.07 1 14 71 0
O M R W Ave BBI 4w 5w SR Econ
Bowling 1867 235 6945 253 27.45 5-43 3 1 44.2 3.71
Kapil has led India to many famous victories as a captain. The jewel in the crown would automatically be the World Cup triumph in 1983 but close behind would be the series triumph in England three years later when he was again the captain.
In the Prudential World cup of 1983, Kapil’s memorable innings against Zimbabwe in Tunbridge Wells paved way for India reaching the final. Reduced to 17/5, skipper Kapil played one of the most remarkable innings in the history with an unbeaten 175 that included 6 sixes and 16 boundaries, which remains the record for No. 6 batsmen in ODIs. He was instrumental in India’s win in the final when he brilliantly caught Viv Richards at midwicket, running for what seemed like an eternity, which changed the course of the final.
He has also made significant contribution as a player in many other matches to enable India to register some memorable wins.
Kapil is the proud owner of many records. Kapil Dev is also the only cricketer to have scored 5000 runs and taken 400 wickets in Tests. He once held the record for most Test wickets of 434 victims. He holds the record of most number of Tests played by an Indian.
Kapil is also the youngest player ever to achieve the test double of 1000 runs and 100 wickets. He is the only Indian fast bowler ever to claim eight or more wickets in a test innings on three occasions. He has taken his first 100 wickets in record one year and 105 days. He is the only fast bowler ever to claim 70 or more wickets in a calendar year twice : 75 in 1983 and 74 in 1979. He is the only batsman ever to have got his first test century with a six. There are lots of other records that he has achieved in his long career.
Despite all the records, Kapil never did true justice to his batting skills. Sunil Gavaskar still maintains that ‘For someone of his batting abilities, he should have scored at least 10, 000 runs. But it was a pity that he never took his batting seriously’.
His retirement was a bit of an irony. Azharuddin and selectors did not treat Kapil properly in his last cricketing days (My theory). I always felt that towards the end Kapil should have come as first change, as he was clearly unsettled with newer strategies like slogging in the first 15 overs, pinch-hitting, etc.
After a year or more of shabby treatment and the media crying for his head, he retired with still maybe two years of cricket left in him (even at that age, he and Azhar were the only fit Indian cricketers). His last test was against New Zealand at Hamilton in 1993-94. His last ODI was against West Indies at Faridabad in 1994-95.
Being a born athlete, most of the games came naturally to him. Even today after his retirement, he plays football and golf better than most professional footballers or golfers.
The best memory of Kapil for me apart from the World Cup win in Lords was his four consecutive sixes off Eddie Hemmings to stave off the follow on in the Test against England in 1990. What audacity? And I remember Hirwani who came in last got out in the very next over.
His career as coach was not as spectacular as that of his as a player. It was one of the leanest patches of Indian cricket (though all including me expected it to become the golden era of Indian cricket with Kapil as coach and Sachin as captain) and was ended with match fixing charges against Kapil, when he resigned vowing never to come back to Indian cricket.
Kapil Dev pipped the likes of Sunil Gavaskar and Sachin Tendulkar to win the Wisden Indian Cricketer of the Century Award. That tells how great the man was. The Award could not have gone to a more deserving player. The TOI editorial the next day was : “The irrepressible Sir Neville Cardus once wrote that it was futile to measure cricketing ability in one age with ability in another. But if a vote were ever needed, then only providence and cricket’s bible Wisden were qualified enough to pronounce judgment. For both were timeless and all-seeing. So if Wisden has chosen to declare Kapil Dev as India’s Cricketer of the Century, then there can be no debate.”
Ironically, it has taken a Wisden to remind us of Kapil’s contribution to Indian cricket. He deserves to be remembered as a beaming skipper holding aloft the World Cup at Lord’s. But the picture that has remained with many a young cricket fan of today has sadly been that of a disillusioned idol denouncing the game and sobbing inconsolably on TV after being accused of fixing matches.
Little wonder then, that when Kapil was awarded this prestigious honour he said emotionally, ’’This trophy means a lot to me. I will keep it for the rest of my life.’’ True, for Kapil has done what he does best — win big. He now stands vindicated. The ghosts of match-fixing has been laid to rest. (Even though ghosts don’t die)
Truly, Kapil Da Jawaab Nahin