Kapil Dev

The captain of the Indian cricket team that won the first and the only cricket World Cup for India, Kapil Dev is a cricketer par excellence. Known by the epithets such as ‘Haryana hurricane, he was born on January 6, 1959.

Kapil Dev Ramlal Nikhanj made his Test debut in 1978 in Faisalabad against Pakistan. This first match played by him was just the ordinary one and Kapil Dev could not do anything worth noticing. But things changed in the coming matches and he went on to score the fastest Test half century. Kapil achieved this feat off just 33 balls. He was awarded ‘Man of the Series’ Award in Test series against Pakistan in 1979-80.

He again lived up to the rising expectations when he bagged ‘Man of the Series’ award in home series against England in 1982. With such a stupendous performance Kapil Dev was given the responsibility to lead the team India in World Cup 1983. The man stood up to expectation and lead India to its only World Cup victory till date. Kapil Dev is one among the best all rounder Indian cricket team ever had. If he was a very good bowler he also adorned the hat of a batsman with equal ease. Judged by Wisden as the ‘Indian Cricketer of the Century’ award in 2002, Kapil Dev was the first Indian bowler to become the highest wicket taker in the world in 1994.

This player with a fighter’s instinct retired from the active cricket in 1994. He was honored by the Government of India in 1979-80 with Arjuna Award. He received another accolades in the form of Padma Shri in 1982 and Padma Bhushan in 1991. Kapil Dev started his second inning as a coach of Indian cricket team in 1999. He resigned from the post in 2000.

He was appointed as a Chariman of the National Cricket Academy in 2006 for two years.