May 04, 2001 04:59 PM
2101 Views
It would be an understatement of the millennium if one would call Kapil Dev one of the greatest all rounders of not just Indian cricket but in the history of the game. Such have been the deeds of this natural cricketer from Haryana that words would not be enough to describe them. Ever since he took to the game in the late 70's to the time he called it quits in the mid 90's, he was one of the leading all rounders in the game. He held the record for the most number of Test and One day wickets for quite a long time till Courtney Walsh and Wasim Akram took over respectively.
Kapil was a truly inspirational cricketer who has charted the course of many a famous Indian victory almost single handedly. Captaining India to win the Prudential World Cup in 1983 obviously was the highlight of his illustrious career. Other highlights would include leading India to 2-0 series win to beat a strong England side in England in 1986.
His unbeaten inns of 175 against Zimbabwe in the World Cup in 1983 when India were tottering at 17/5 and his 4 successive sixes of Eddie Hemmings in the first inns of the Lords test in 1990 to get the 24 runs needed to avoid the follow on are now of course part of cricketing folk lore.
His match winning efforts with the ball in the Melbourne Test of 1980 against Australia in which he bowled non stop for 3 hours and skittled out Australia after taking painkilling injections for a torn hamstring and a pulled groin muscle was nothing short of super human.
He came on the scene just when India's famed and widely feared spin quartet of Bedi, Prasanna, Chandrashekhar and Venkatraghavan were nearing the autumn of their careers. He remained India's ace strike bowler for a decade and a half. Many believe that he could have amassed more than the 5000 odd runs that he eventually did and he did not take his batting seriously but if one combines 434 wickets along with these runs and the 64 catches that he pouched, then one would agree that these figures are nothing short of extraordinary.
He chose to remain away from the game after he retired in 1994 and it was only after critics suggested that he give something back to the game did he accept the job of Indian Coach in 1999. But poor results coupled with betting and match fixing scandals saw a premature end to what could well have been an interesting challenge to the great all rounder.
HE IS ONE OF THE GREATEST ALLROUNDERS INDIA HAS EVER PRODUCED
