MUMBAI: On Tuesday, Kapil, arguably India’s finest all-rounder, turned 50. He had a quiet and private celebration with his family, but he could not stop people from reflecting on his brilliant career and his present status as a kind of a rebel.
Kapil had his birthday present a few days ago, when the International Cricket Council, on the occasion of its centenary year, included him, along with Sunil Gavaskar and Bishen Singh Bedi, in the Hall of Fame of all-time greats.
The man who had led India to her only World Cup triumph in 1983, finished with 434 Test wickets, which was a long-standing record until it was surpassed in a rush by several bowlers, including India’s own Anil Kumble. Today, you have two spinners, Shane Warne and Muttiah Muralitharan sitting on over 700 wickets, but the toil that Kapil Dev went through cannot be measured by just the number of wickets.
He was a veritable match-winner for India and his never-say-die spirit was seen even in his captaincy. His best batting came in the same 1983 World Cup. India was reduced to 37 for 6 by Zimbabwe and an impending defeat meant that they were as good as out of the tournament. But a swashbuckling knock of 178, even today regarded as the best ODI knock, resurrected India’s hopes and eventually led to their winning title.
They say, fast bowlers haunt in pairs, but Kapil Dev was invariably a solitary reaper. His best bowling efforts of capturing eight wickets in an innings had come against two of the strongest teams, West Indies and Australia.
Kapil Dev had vied with the likes of Pakistan’s Imran Khan and England’s Ian Botham for the spot of the best all-rounder of that era. His contribution to Indian cricket, however, was immense.
The only public statement that Kapil made on his birthday was to wish Indian cricket well. “I a, sure India will top the rankings in all three formats of the game in 2009 and I wish the present players the very best,” he said without any rancor for being treated so shabbily by the country’s cricket administration.
It is no secret that Kapil had fallen foul of the establishment because he had pitched with a rebel cricket promotion called India Cricket League to rival the official Indian Premier League. Today, he is fighting single-handedly to earn recognition for his pet project.
The tag of a “rebel” sits so awkwardly on the head of a player who has made such a stupendous contribution to Indian cricket. Well, no such tag can ever wipe out the game’s glorious history.
