Passion Stories

Taking the world by storm with his on-point sports skills and wonderful willpower, Haryana Hurricane Kapil Dev brought India the honor to hold the Cricket World Cup trophy for the first time. Ironically, his autobiography, 83, was released in 2021. Better known as Kapil Dev, the former Indian cricketer has won many titles to his name. Born in Chandigarh, his confident and positive personality helped the Indian team win the World Cup under his leadership. As a result of his achievements in cricket, Wisden awarded him the title of 'Indian Cricketer of the Century' in 2002. In 1980 he married to Romi Bhatia.

Kapil began his cricket career by playing domestically for Haryana. In 1978-79, he also played a test series against Pakistan for the Indian team, where he showed outstanding bowling skills. By taking two 5-wicket hauls against Australia, Dev also won the Ranji trophy and became India's premier fast bowler. In 1982-83, he became the captain following Sunil Gavaskar and went on to play in the World Cup. The road to becoming a sensation for Kapil Dev was not without obstacles. In 1980-91, he suffered a groin injury during India's tour of Australia. India was about to loose the match. Even though he was injured, Kapil managed to win the match with his spectacular bowling, which ranks among his five best bowling performances. India came close to losing the World Cup, but Kapil's motivational personality boosted team morale and helped the country win. 

He is the greatest Indian pace bowler and the only cricketer to score more than 5,000 runs and has taken more than 400 wickets in International Test cricket. He led India's bowling attack for the next two decades after 1978-79. He had scored 434 wickets in 131 matches by the end of his Test cricket career. Having retired in 1994, he became the coach of the Indian team in 1999. Dev has been awarded with two of India’s highest civilian honours: the Padma Shri in 1982 and the Padma Bhushan in 1991. In 2002 he was named the Indian Cricketer of the Century, and he was inducted into the International Cricket Council’s Hall of Fame in 2010.