Straight from the Heart - Kapil Dev An Autobiography

Life is all about learning. Working single minded and focused, under guidance of coach Desh Prem Azad; he progressed as life changed with ages. His ideology was live a simple life, and do own things. Lot of hard work and not comparing with anyone else, realizing everyone is unique helped him. When charges of match-fixing cropped up, had filed a defamation suit, but withdrew after a month, realizing it was not worth spending time and money on something not very positive. Our beginnings never know our ends and one is still learning.

Sanctity of Memories. Kuckoo for family was born to Ram Lal Nikhanj, a prominent timber merchant who passed away when Dev was seventeen. For his mom, her family was religion; he had 4 sisters and two elder brothers Romesh and Bhushan. A student at D.A.V. School, his brother Bhushan introduced him to cricket at the age of 12 in 1971. Azad gave him three points to remember mental toughness, unrelenting effort and not being intimidated by the opponent. In the 1977-78 wills trophy Gavaskar gave him an important, pragmatic lesson on bowling technique. For batsman, it’s difficult to play two balls – one is the outswinger and the other if ball is bowled close to the wicket. He owes his future to five years of slogging between 13 to 18 going between stadium and being totally consumed by cricket. Dev made an impressive debut for Haryana in November 1975 against Punjab with a 06 wicket haul, restricting Punjab to 63 runs and helping victory. He finished the season with 121 wickets in 30 matches. As a tribute to father, Dev wanted to make a mark.

Passion is the operative word. He had never seen a Test match even on television before he played his first international match in Faisalabad, Pakistan on 16 October 1978. It was only after attending the training camp and playing for Ranji Trophy that his passion grew. Bedi said he would not try to follow anyone and will be original. Amarnath taught him how to wash cloths and save money. In the 5th test in Delhi he accomplishes his first century in Jan 1979. In his career he has never been run out as he was alert in his head had eyes and ears open. Guts is vital, you need talent to arrive at a certain level, so both are complementary. The more people expect of you, the harder you work and set your own goals. In 1982-83 he was made captain for the West Indies tour. Learning to lead the flock, he realized that he had to be assertive without being aggressive. At Albion Sports complex, on 29th March 1983, on holi, the foundation for winning the world cup was laid, learning to adjust to the West Indies pace who were the winners of the previous two world cups. He had a record of sort with 200 wickets and 2000 runs at the age of 24. Match against Zimbabwe during world cup was the most remarkable day of his life and career. Scored 175 runs out of 266. In cricket till the last ball, any cookie can crumble. It’s easy to be wise after the event. The team decide to give their best in the finals for the next 6 hours against West Indies but begin with a measly score of 183. ‘Catches make matches’ and it was truly a breathtaking skier, Richard after hitting seven spectacular fours in a mini-masterpiece of 33 , was caught on a ball by Madan. India’s world cup victory was splendid. The team continues to win all the internationals against Pakistan in 1983-84. Then it turned out to be a bad season, except the win in the Asia cup in Sharjah in 1985. He would not have been the best person to deal with media as a hi-fi savvy guy, since he was not a glib talker. But on the field, he leads the flock and deliver goods. Captaincy changed his personality and added to his perspective. He was said to be too headstrong and inexperienced and not having the ability to lead India. BCCI sends him abroad for knee surgery, bearing the expenses. There was a tug of war between facts and fiction, regarding the Delhi Test fracas, when he thought of resigning. At that juncture Pataudi asked him not to retire against the interest of the team. Both Gavaskar and Dev was summoned to meet N K P Salve where they clearly aver that they have no ‘difference of opinion’. In 1985-86 Gavaskar retires from captaincy, and he gets a chance again.

Records are made to be broken. Bowling his 4576th over in the 130th Test he beats Sir Richard Hadlees record with the 432nd wicket at Ahmedabad stadium in early 1994. With determination, dedication and strength in resolve – for success in life, he moved on. He retired playing against the West Indies at Faridabad in Haryana, in October of 1994. He pulled his thigh muscle while running on the ground and felt great strain. He felt it to be a latent message to call it ‘quits, as body could not take any injuries. As he was not a good orator he did not like being commentator, but volunteered to do that for rest of the test in the series as ‘Thanksgiving; to spectators across the country. Then he started playing golf. He felt that young cricketers must pursue golf as the concentration level really gets enhanced. He played 131 Tests, with just one break on non-cricketing grounds. He was the only player in the world to capture 434 wickets while amassing 5,248 runs.

Love makes you go round. Romi was a great influence. Having met her before the tour to Pakistan in 1978 at Bombay Cricket Club, through a common friend Bablu, their romance bloomed under the prying eyes of five friends and finally tied the knot on May 6 th 1981 amidst many oppositions from family members. Romi got hyper about them not being able to raise a family, both believed that things happen when they are meant to happen and not essentially when you want them to. They are blessed with a daughter Amiya in 1996.

Rearview renders the mirror image. BCCI helped Kapil to be in the game, but he did have fights with them for laundry allowance, flying economy class and question of captain and captaincy. In 16 years of his test cricket, he has seen 8 captains and seven of them had played under him when he became the captain twice. Life for cricketers earlier were tough, they did not have money even to pay medical expenses, and most of them had to work on other jobs. Modelling was turning point of his life. He was never touchy about what people had to say. Post 1996 Indian cricket economy drives 60-70 percent of world’s cricket business and players getting due share. In 2003 we were into finals of world cup but slipped against Australia. We had best talent but needed professionalism. There is no politics for top players, 99% complains come from borderline cases. Cricket administration in India (BCCI) should be in the hands of professional cricket players and not Honorary persons. Sport has the power to change the world.

Fatalism of fame. Fame and infamy both come under harsh public scrutiny. Press has a great role to play. He was annoyed that BCCI would not give permission to voice his opinion, but his rival captain could use column. He has no regret of not giving 100% to studies, but believe basic education is important. It was tough handling business but he had strong business instincts, eg. When he started sports lighting business it was very small company, ten years down the line, it is a big business as all over the world, sports are changing into night sports. He works 18 hours a day to make money, some people even called him ‘money making machine’. In 2000 he was alleged to be involved in match fixing. Bindra interviewed to Outlook that Kapil had offered Manoj Prabhakar 25 Lakhs to underperform in 994. He was the coach of India team in 2000. After this an income tax raid was done at all his residences and offices. The investigation code named GCI (Greatest Cricketer of India) but, he was harassed by the raids. He had to stop modelling, except for Action shoes. Only Subrata Roy of Sahara India Group, continued business deals with him. His administrative staff slogged for two years to appease the authorities looking for loopholes. His Bharat Darshan for Sony Max has been a rediscovery with gully cricket. Conferred the Wisden honour by Sir Vivian Richards, at the Wembley Conference Center in London remains the most cherished moment of his life. He wish to stay rooted to the ground and retain sanity.



Few teachings:

A bowler should have superb rhythm
A batsman should have a fantastic technique
A fielder should be alert and eagle eyed
A captain becomes a great captain, when he can make the best use of limited talents in times of stress and strain
An all-rounder is a complete cricketer
Stamina is all about endurance
Talent, perseverance and self-esteem form the trinity of success.