Kapil Dev
India
Personal Information
Born Jan 06, 1959 (57 years)
Birth Place Chandigarh
Nickname Dev
Height --
Role Batting Allrounder
Batting Style Right Handed Bat
Bowling Style Right-arm fast-medium
Career Information
Intl Debut
at 19y vs Pakistan . Oct 01, 1978
Last Intl Match
Current Teams
India
In
short, Kapil Dev was India's best fast bowler, best all-rounder and one
of India's best captains who will always be remembered for leading the
country to the biggest thing to happen to In...
Full profile
Full profile
Career Information
Profile
In
short, Kapil Dev was India's best fast bowler, best all-rounder and one
of India's best captains who will always be remembered for leading the
country to the biggest thing to happen to Indian cricket: the 1983 World
Cup triumph. With the ball, he was known for his energetic action and
lethal outswingers which took the ball away from the right handers. With
the bat, he was an aggressive lower-middle order batsman who could
shift the momentum of a game in minutes. On the field, he was known for
his inspirational leadership (often by example) and athletic fielding.
All these qualities made him the only player in the history of the game
to have taken 400 wickets and scored more than 5000 runs in Test
cricket, making him one of the all-time best all-rounders of the game.
Kapil made his debut in 1978 and gradually showcased himself with both bat and ball, especially in Test cricket. In his early years, he came across as a raw talent who was keen on just 'running in and bowling fast' when he had the ball, and 'hitting hard' when he had the bat. The approach saw him score India's fastest Test half-century (off 33 balls) against Pakistan in his very third match. He came of age in the home series against Pakistan in 1979-80, where his all-round performances (32 wickets and 278 runs) helped India win 2 Tests. In the series, he became the youngest player to reach 100 wickets and 1000 runs in Test cricket. For the next two seasons, steady performances with the ball and useful contributions with the bat made him a captain-material at a young age. However, for some reason, his ODI performances remained ordinary compared to his growth in Test cricket.
Captaincy came soon. Kapil Dev replaced Sunil Gavaskar in the 1982-83 season and was appointed the captain for the World Cup to be played at England in 1983. He played one of the all-time best knocks in ODI cricket in a must-win match against Zimbabwe, where he rescued India from a disastrous 17 for 5 with a stunning 175 off 138 balls. Unfortunately, the match was not telecasted due to a BBC strike. The knock gave India a momentum which they seized, and went on to win the
trophy for the first time, defeating the mighty West Indies in the final at Lord's.
Post World Cup, a slump in Kapil's batting form saw Gavaskar return as captain for a brief period of time. However, he regained his leadership role and led India for the title defence in the 1987 World Cup at home. India reached the semi-finals but lost unexpectedly to England. Kapil Dev took responsibility and never captained India again, although he continued to be India's frontline pacer till he retired in 1994 as Test cricket's highest wicket taker.
After retirement, Kapil Dev became India's coach for a brief period of time in 1999-2000. A 0-3 whitewash against Australia, a 0-2 loss to South Africa and accusations of match-fixing saw him step down from the post as he announced that he was leaving the game forever. However, he was cleared of all charges and won the Wisden Indian Cricketer of the Century, ahead of Sunil Gavaskar and Sachin Tendulkar. He joined the National Cricket Academy in 2004 but was removed from the chairmanship after he joined the rebel Indian Cricket League (ICL) in 2007.
Interesting facts:
Kapil Dev never missed a Test match due to fitness issues.
In the 1987 World Cup against Australia, Kapil Dev agreed with the umpires to increase Australia’s total from 268 to 270 as one boundary had mistakenly been marked as 4 instead of 6. India went on to lose the game by 1 run.
By Karthik Lakshmanan
Kapil made his debut in 1978 and gradually showcased himself with both bat and ball, especially in Test cricket. In his early years, he came across as a raw talent who was keen on just 'running in and bowling fast' when he had the ball, and 'hitting hard' when he had the bat. The approach saw him score India's fastest Test half-century (off 33 balls) against Pakistan in his very third match. He came of age in the home series against Pakistan in 1979-80, where his all-round performances (32 wickets and 278 runs) helped India win 2 Tests. In the series, he became the youngest player to reach 100 wickets and 1000 runs in Test cricket. For the next two seasons, steady performances with the ball and useful contributions with the bat made him a captain-material at a young age. However, for some reason, his ODI performances remained ordinary compared to his growth in Test cricket.
Captaincy came soon. Kapil Dev replaced Sunil Gavaskar in the 1982-83 season and was appointed the captain for the World Cup to be played at England in 1983. He played one of the all-time best knocks in ODI cricket in a must-win match against Zimbabwe, where he rescued India from a disastrous 17 for 5 with a stunning 175 off 138 balls. Unfortunately, the match was not telecasted due to a BBC strike. The knock gave India a momentum which they seized, and went on to win the
trophy for the first time, defeating the mighty West Indies in the final at Lord's.
Post World Cup, a slump in Kapil's batting form saw Gavaskar return as captain for a brief period of time. However, he regained his leadership role and led India for the title defence in the 1987 World Cup at home. India reached the semi-finals but lost unexpectedly to England. Kapil Dev took responsibility and never captained India again, although he continued to be India's frontline pacer till he retired in 1994 as Test cricket's highest wicket taker.
After retirement, Kapil Dev became India's coach for a brief period of time in 1999-2000. A 0-3 whitewash against Australia, a 0-2 loss to South Africa and accusations of match-fixing saw him step down from the post as he announced that he was leaving the game forever. However, he was cleared of all charges and won the Wisden Indian Cricketer of the Century, ahead of Sunil Gavaskar and Sachin Tendulkar. He joined the National Cricket Academy in 2004 but was removed from the chairmanship after he joined the rebel Indian Cricket League (ICL) in 2007.
Interesting facts:
Kapil Dev never missed a Test match due to fitness issues.
In the 1987 World Cup against Australia, Kapil Dev agreed with the umpires to increase Australia’s total from 268 to 270 as one boundary had mistakenly been marked as 4 instead of 6. India went on to lose the game by 1 run.
By Karthik Lakshmanan
