In 1975, Indian cricket had its Oliver Twist moment. A tall, wiry teenager representing Haryana was participating in a national under-19 coaching camp at the CCI in Mumbai’s scorching summer heat. Kapil Dev Nikhanj, better known as Kapil Dev was born on 6th January, 1959 in Chandigarh, India. He was a student at D.A.V. School and joined Desh Prem Azad in 1971.

He captained the Indian cricket team which won the 1983 Cricket World Cup. Named by Wisden as the Indian Cricketer of the Century in 2002, Kapil Dev is considered as one of the greatest all rounders of all time. He was also India's national cricket coach for 10 months between October 1999 and August 2000. 

A naturally aggressive player, he often helped India in difficult situations by taking the attack to the opposition. Nicknamed The Haryana Hurricane, he represented the Haryana cricket team in domestic cricket. He retired in 1994. On 8 March 2010, Kapil Dev was inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame.

Sometimes, a stray remark can become a base camp to motivate an individual to reach the summit. Tarapore, a genial Parsee, had played one Test for India in 1948 as a left-arm spinner and was conditioned to believe that this was a land of spinners only. The desire to prove him wrong became a driving force for Kapil Dev Nikhanj. Not only did he get the full meal he asked for but he also achieved the seemingly impossible: he bowled fast for India. Barely four years later, as he became the youngest to take 100 wickets for his country, Kapil Dev sought out Tarapore at a function. ‘I just went up to him and said thank you. He had given me a goal in life by almost challenging me to bowl fast,’ he says.

He has won numerous awards in tests, ODIs and man of the match. He was also felicitated with Padma Shri in the year 1982. He received two of India’s highest civilian honours: the Padma Shri (1982) and the Padma Bhushan (1991).

Dev retired in 1994 and had a brief but unsuccessful 10-month spell as the coach of the Indian national team from October 1999 to August 2000. In 1999 he was implicated in a match-fixing controversy that led to his coaching departure, but he was later cleared of all charges after an investigation conducted by India’s Central Bureau of Investigation. He was chairman of India’s National Cricket Academy from 2006 to 2007 but was forced out when he became an executive in the privately funded upstart India Cricket League (ICL). He left the ICL in 2012 and returned to the good graces of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), the national governing body of Indian cricket.

 

Kapil Dev facts:

1. He was never run out in his in 184 Test innings long career.

2. He was the youngest Test player to achieve the all-round double of 100 wickets and 1,000 runs.

3. He never missed a Test because of injury or fitness reasons in a career that spanned 131 Tests spread over 16 years.

4. After retirement from cricket in 1994, he took up golf.

5. He has written three autobiographical works. By ‘God’s Decree’ came out in 1985 and ‘Cricket my style’ in 1987. He released his most recent autobiography, titled ‘Straight from the Heart’ in 2004.

He is truly a living legend! Let's wish Kapil Dev a very happy birthday on 6th January!

 

 

Written by:

  Ekta Ganwani

  Head Student Editor

  Lalji Mehrotra Lions School