‘Haryana Hurricane’ Kapil Dev turns 60: A Look back

Guwahati, January 6, 2019:

The legendary cricketer Kapil Dev has stepped into his 60s, as the icon celebrates his 60^th birthday today. Also known as the Haryana Hurricane, the all-rounder is known for leading the Indian cricket team to one of its greatest triumphs at the 1983 Cricket World Cup.

The former Indian cricketing great started his debut in 1978 and progressively started to perform well, especially in Test cricket. Kapil Dev replaced Sunil Gavaskar as Captain in the 1982-83 season and was given the honor to lead the team for the 1983 World Cup to be played in England.

Kapil Dev holds a number of records. He was the youngest cricketer to take 100 wickets in the age of 21 ,200 in the age of 24 and 300 in the age of 27. He is also the only player to achieve the all-rounders double of 4,000 Test runs and 400 Test wickets.

He created some special memories for Indian cricket fans. When Viv Richards heaved the ball for a six in the final of the 1983 World Cup, Dev ran backwards to hold the catch, and it was widely considered to be the turning point of the match. He is also remembered for his big-hitting as a lower-order batsman.

Kapil Dev has been awarded with Arjuna Award, Padma Shri, Padma Bhusan, ICC Cricket Hall of Fame and CK Naidu lifetime achievement award. He was also named by Wisden as the Indian Cricketer of the century in 2002.  In the year 2008, Dev was honoured as Lieutenant Colonel by the Indian Territorial Army.

After his retirement, Kapil Dev became India’s coach for a short-term period. He joined the National Cricket Academy in 2004 but was detached from the chairmanship after he joined the rebel Indian Cricket League (ICL) in 2007. Till date, he continues to warm people’s hearts by being a popular cricket critic and commentator.