KAPIL DEV

Kapil Dev was like a breath of fresh air in the Indian Test scene in the late 70s, as he was the first true fast bowler that the Indian fans had seen after the likes of Mohammad Nissar and Amar Singh in the 1930s. Born in Chandigarh, Kapil fancied himself as a swing bowler and quickly became an integral part of the Indian team.

NZ v IND 2020: Kapil Dev asks Virat Kohli to practise more for "slowing down reflexes"

He went onto captain India to their maiden World Cup win in 1983 in England toppling two-time champions and fan favorites West Indies in the final. Kapil also captained the team to semi-finals of the 1987 World Cup, which was held partially at home. His batting was well ahead of its time, as he preferred aggression to anything else. His one and only ODI century-175* came in the 1983 World Cup in trying circumstances and is regarded as one of the all-time greatest knocks.

Unfortunately, as he chased Sir Richard Hadlee’s record of 431 Test wickets at the fag end of his career, he struggled to get wickets and finally broke the record in 1994 against Sri Lanka, but by that time, he was being swept on one knee by batsmen.

Not only that but in the last three years of his career, Kapil Dev hindered the progress of a young Javagal Srinath, who was regarded as one of the fastest bowlers when he debuted in 1991 and but was often used as the first-change bowler with an old ball. It took him 3 years after his ODI debut, to play his maiden Test, because of Kapil’s presence.

He definitely overstayed his welcome in chasing some glory.