The Haryana Hurricane: Kapil Dev

Haryana is a state that has produced many prominent sports persons for the country. The people situated in this part of the country consciously inculcate a sporting culture within the youth. Hence, we see a lot of athletes with all the ‘Jazba’, who actively get involved in some or the other sport. Now, if we narrow down our focus entirely on cricket, we notice that many distinguished players have come from that state, like Ajay Jadeja, Chetan Sharma etc. 

Today in this article by ZAP cricket, we talk about another such sensation from Haryana, who was fondly nicknamed as ‘The Haryana Hurricane’-Kapil Dev. 

Credit: IMDb

Kapil was a right arm medium pacer and right handed batsman who conquered the title of 1983 World Cup and who represented India in 356 international matches. 

Early life and domestic cricket 

Born on 6 January, 1959, Kapil attended D.A.V College. He made his domestic debut in 1975 for Haryana and announced himself in a grand way by grabbing 121 wickets in 30 matches in the debut season itself. Then, In the 1977-78 season, he was selected for the Irani Trophy and Duleep Trophy. He consistently won matches for  Haryana and that helped him earn his India cap in 1978.

Kapil Dev’s international career 

Dev made his Test debut on 16 October, 1978 vs Pakistan and ODI debut on 1 October, 1978 vs Pakistan. He is the only player in the history of cricket to have taken more than 400 wickets and to score more than 5,000 runs in test cricket. In fact, in 1994, he became the highest Test wicket taker. However, Courtney Walsh surpassed this record in 1999.

He was an excellent outswing bowler and the team relied heavily on his all round skills. He was India’s strike bowler and ‘The Clutch’ of the Indian batting line up. Whenever the situation got tough for the Indian side, it was Kapil who rescued the match. 

Along with international cricket, he was a regular participant in County Cricket. He played 40 odd matches there as well. He started with Northamptonshire, and later played for Worcestershire.

Kapil played his last international Test on 19 March, 1994 vs New Zealand and last ODI on 17 October 1994 vs West Indies. 

Kapil Dev’s International stats 

Kapil Dev: The skipper

‘Kapil Dev the leader’ would be remembered more than ‘Kapil Dev the Player’. The obvious reason for this anecdote is that he was the first Indian to win the World Cup. Prior to his triumph, nobody actually believed that India had the potential to shine bright at the international stage. But Kapil’s belief was way stronger than the outside noise, and hence, he achieved the massive feat at a very young age. Indians were the underdogs in the 1983 World Cup and were treated as pushovers. But it was Dev’s unwavering determination that proved the world wrong. And hence, he was the youngest captain to win a World Cup, at 24!

His captaincy record has been satisfactory in bilateral series as well. He led the test team in 34 matches. Out of which, he won 4, lost 7, and 22 ended up in a draw. In ODI, he led the team in 74 matches, won 39, lost 33 and 2 resulted in a draw.

Awards and achievements 

• In 1979-80, Kapil was felicitated with Arjuna Award
• In 1982, he was a Padma Shri recipient 
• Won 1983 ICC Cricket World World Cup as captain 
• In 1983, he was announced as Wisden Cricketer of the Year 
• Won 1988 Asia Cup and 1990-91 Asia Cup
• In 1991, he was felicitated with Padma Bhushan
• In 2002, he was named as Wisden Cricketer of the century 
• In 2010, he was inducted in ICC Hall of Fame
• In 2013, he received the C.K. Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award from BCCI
• In 2019, he was honoured with Bharat Gaurav Award

Kapil Dev’s life beyond cricket 

After retiring, Kapil coached the Indian Cricket Team for a brief period of time. In September 1999, he joined the Indian dressing team again, but this time as a coach. However, his stint ended in a short time as he was accused of match fixing. 

After that, he was nominated as the chairman of National Cricket Academy for a couple of years. In between, he took active part in filmography as he acted in multiple movies like Iqbal, Chain Kulli ki Main Kulli etc. His biopic ‘83’ was also released, depicted his story of becoming World Champions. Presently, is a Hindi commentator.