$30,000,000
Kapil Dev
Net Worth
Born in (City)
Chandigarh
Born in (Country)
Punjab
Date of Birth
06th December, 1959
Date of Death
-
Mother
Raj Kumari Lajwanti
Father
Ram Lal Nikhanj
Children
- Amiya Dev
About
Kapil Dev Ramlal Nikhanj (born 6 January 1959) is a former Indian cricketer. He was a fast medium bowler and a hard hitting middle order batsman. Widely regarded as one of the greatest all-rounders to play the game, he is also regarded as one of the greatest captains of all time. He led India to win the first Cricket World Cup title in 1983. He was named by Wisden as the Indian Cricketer of the Century in 2002. Dev captained the Indian cricket team that won the 1983 Cricket World Cup. He was India's national cricket coach between October 1999 and August 2000. He retired in 1994, holding the world record for the greatest number of wickets taken in Test cricket, a record subsequently broken by Courtney Walsh in 2000. At the time, he was also India's highest wicket-taker in both major forms of cricket, Tests and ODIs. He is the first player to take 200 ODI wickets. He is the only player in the history of cricket to have taken more than 400 wickets (434 wickets) and scored more than 5000 runs in Tests,[5] making him one of the greatest all-rounders in the history of cricket. On 11 March 2010, Dev was inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame.
Early Life
Dev was born as Kapil Dev Ramlal Nikhanj to his father Ram Lal Nikhanj, a prominent teak merchant and to his mother, Rajkumari Ram Lal Nikhanj in Chandigarh on 6 January 1959. His mother was born in Pakpattann, in the town of the Sufi saint Baba Farid. His father was from Dipalpur. They lived in Shah Yakka which is now in Okara district, Pakistan. His four sisters were born there before partition and his two brothers in Fazilka, where they moved after partition. His father spent his early life after the partition in Fazilka. They moved to the capital city Chandigarh. Dev was a student at D.A.V. School and joined Desh Prem Azad in 1981.
Road to Success
Dev made an impressive debut for Haryana in November 1975 against Punjab with a 6 wicket haul, restricting Punjab to just 63 runs and helping Haryana to victory. He finished the season with 121 wickets in 30 matches. In the 1976–77 season opener against Jammu & Kashmir, he had a match haul of 8/36 in the win. While his contribution for the rest of that season was ordinary, Haryana qualified for the pre-quarterfinals. Dev achieved his then best innings haul of 8/20 in just 9 overs in the second innings to skittle Bengal for 58 runs in under 19 overs. Haryana lost to Bombay in the quarter-finals. He began his 1977–78 season claiming 8/38 in the first innings against Services. With 3 wickets in the second innings, he took his maiden 10-wicket haul in first-class cricket, a feat he would later achieve twice in Test cricket. With 23 wickets in 4 matches, he was selected for the Irani Trophy, Duleep Trophy and Wills Trophy matches. In the 1990–91 Ranji season, Haryana rode into the semi-finals on the back of the bowling performance of Chetan Sharma and the batting performance of Amarjit Kaypee. Dev took centre stage in the semi-final against Bengal, where he led his team to a Mammoth score of 605 runs by scoring 141 as well as taking 5 wickets. Dev made his Test cricket debut in Faisalabad, Pakistan on 16 October 1978. Although his match figures were unimpressive, the numbers did not convey any measure of his contribution. He startled the Pakistani batsmen with his pace and bouncers that struck their helmets on more than one occasion. Dev captured his maiden wicket of Sadiq Mohammad with his trademark outswinger. He showcased his all-rounder talent when he scored India's fastest Test half-century off 33 balls and 2 sixes in each of the innings during the 3rd Test match at National Stadium, Karachi, although India lost the match and the series 2–0. In the ensuing series against a visiting West Indies team, he scored his maiden Test century (126) at Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi in just 124 balls and had a steady bowling performance (17 wickets at 33.00). Ominous signs of Dev's liking for England showed up in the ensuring series, his first outside the sub-continent. He picked up his first 5-wicket haul and all of England's wickets, although it came at a huge cost (48 overs and 146 runs conceded) as England scored a mammoth 633 and won the match comfortably.
Challenges
Dev entered the World Cup with an ordinary individual record – 32 Matches, 608 Runs (Average: 21), 34 wickets. India's solitary victory in the previous two World Cups was against East Africa in 1975. Riding on Yashpal Sharma (89 Runs), Roger Binny and Ravi Shastri (3 wickets each), India inflicted the West Indies' first-ever defeat in the World Cup. Following a victory against Zimbabwe, India lost the next two matches – Australia (despite Dev's best career figures of 5/43) and West Indies. India now needed victories against Australia and Zimbabwe to advance to the semifinals. India faced Zimbabwe at Nevill Ground, Royal Tunbridge Wells on 18 June 1983. After falling behind, Dev, batting with the lower order batsmen, stabilised the side with help from Roger Binny (22 runs) and Madan Lal. Dev scored his century off 100 balls. Together with Kirmani (22 runs), Dev put on an unbeaten 126 runs for the 9th wicket – a world record that stood unbroken for 27 years (10,000 days), and finished not out with 175 runs off 138 balls, an innings that included 16 boundaries and 6 sixes. The innings figures in the Top 10 ODI Batting Performances at No. 4. India won the match by 31 runs. It's said that after this match, Dev booked a Mercedes for himself as a reward. In the semifinals India faced the English cricket team. Dev helped curtail the lower order after England lost regular wickets to Binny and Amarnath. He took 3 wickets as India limited England to 213 and the middle order of Amarnath (46 runs), Yashpal Sharma (61) and Sandeep Patil (51*) ensured victory and entry into the finals to take on the West Indies cricket team who were looking for a hat-trick of World Cup titles. West Indies restricted India for 183 runs, with only Krishnamachari Srikkanth (38 runs) providing some scoring relief. Despite losing Gordon Greenidge, West Indies steadied their innings to 57/2 on the back of quick scoring by Viv Richards. Richards played one too many aggressive shots when he skied a pull shot from Madan Lal that Dev caught at deep square leg after running backwards for over 20 yards. The catch is attributed as the turning point in the 1983 WC Final and is regarded as one of the finest in ODI Cricket. West Indies collapsed from 50/1 to 76/6 and finally were bowled out for 140 with Dev picking up the wicket of Andy Roberts. The win was India's maiden World Cup and he led with 303 runs (Average: 60.6), 12 wickets (Average: 20.41) and 7 catches in 8 matches.
Failures
One of the finest Indian all-rounders of all time, Kapil Dev was a “disappointment” when it came to coaching, reveals batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar in his just-released autobiography ‘Playing It My Way‘. Tendulkar has claimed that he was left disappointed by Kapil during one of the Australia tours since the coach never involved himself in strategic discussions. During my second stint as captain, we had Kapil Dev as our coach. He is one of the finest cricketers to have played for India and one of the best all-rounders of all time, and I had great expectations from him in Australia. “However, his method of involvement and his thought process was limited to leaving the running of the team to the captain, and hence he did not involve himself in strategic discussions that would help us on the field,” Tendulkar writes. The Indian batting great also shared his frustration on how some of his moves as captain did not pay off but the same strategy clicked when other captains employed it. Tendulkar talked about the 1997 Sharjah series where he promoted Robin Singh to bat at number three but the southpaw failed and he had to cop heavy criticism from the media.
Achievements
Kapil Dev is best known for leading the team India to a World Cup victory in 1983.|At one time he held the world record as the highest wicket taker in the test cricket, with a total haul of 434 wickets.|He was honored with Padma Shri—India’s fourth highest civilian award—in 1982|In 1991, he was honored with the Padma Bhushan, the third highest civilian award in India.|Kapil Dev is the recipient of several cricketing awards including the Wisden Indian Cricketer of the Century in 2002.|Received the Arjuna Award for Cricket in 1979.
Quotes
- When you have to work, work with a smile.
- A truth that prevails at most facets of life.
- Eat, sleep, breath cricket