SRIKKANTH : We have with us a very special guest, none other than the great Kapil Dev… in my opinion the best all-rounder I have seen. Welcome to our show, Kapil!

Kapil : Thank you!

SRIKKANTH: Talking about the 1983 world-cup, tell us frankly…. You were the captain of the team, and I played under you….did you ever think that we had a chance of winning the world-cup?

Kapil : Not exactly! We never went with that frame of mind. Our track record was not so good that we could start thinking of winning the world-cup. In our mind, including me, we were thinking ….if we could be in the last four….Our team had experience, talent…everything. I was expecting our team to come to the last four. As luck would have it, the tournament started so well….which gave us more confidence to win the tournament.

SRIKKANTH: There were lots of ups and downs in the tournament. At which point of time, you really thought we really will make it to the semi-finals…how did you motivate yourself?

Kapil : From the very first match, when we beat West Indies and in the previous match… the confidence started when we toured West Indies in 82. We Indians were the first team to beat West Indies in West Indies. I think that made a big difference to our team. After the tournament started, in the first match we managed to beat them convincingly, that gave us another motivation to show our talent and keep on winning. If you want to know the exact point when we started to (believe in ourselves)….I think the Chelmsford match, where we beat Australia, was the starting point. I think that’s where we started getting the feeling of …Before that we were just thinking about the semi-final. I think at that moment, when we beat Australia also, I think everybody in their heart of heart, started believing …(that we could win the cup!).  I think that was the stage when I started feeling we had a chance…..

SRIKKANTH : Kapil, I am one of the lucky few to have watched your great knock of 175 not out (against Zimbabwe)…the whole world wants to know actually, what was in your mind especially when you walked out to bat on that day… I think we were 12 for 4 …or something like that. What was in your mind…..I was so scared to ask you this question earlier…I was so scared to face you after we all got out so cheaply….!!!!

Kapil : When I went in to bat, we were 14 for 5. I had thought before the match that if we could get close to 300 runs, we would be through to semi-final even if we lost the next match. So, our target was 300+ runs, and win the match. But before we realized, we were 17 for 5….My mind was more on saving the grace of the way we were playing. I am not a player who can curb his natural game, but I knew I needed to play out the full quota of overs, (if we were to put up a decent total) . If I play the full quote of overs, we will be close to 180. So, I played to get to 130, 150 and so on. The target in my mind went on increasing as I scored more and more runs!
SRIKKANTH : You thought 200 would have been a good enough total?

KAPIL : When we reached 180, I thought we will get to 220. After we reached 220, I started hitting out. I didn’t think about anything. It was my day!! Everything fell in place for me.

SRIKKANTH: I was one of the fortunate few to have witnessed that great knock. Unfortunately, because of the strike, BBC did not telecast that match!

Kapil: I am glad, it wasn’t. People remember that knock even today.

SRIKKANTH ; No, No! It was one of the greatest knocks I have seen in my life! You scored 175 n.o., we qualified for the semi-finals, and we beat England also and eventually we reached the finals.  You were a young player and a young captain at that time… how did you manage the pressure?

KAPIL : Let me put it very clearly…when you are winning, you really don’t have to do too much work. The boys are motivated so well. It is only when you are not playing well, that’s when you will have to start worrying about individual problems… are they getting good sleep? Are their families being looked after? etc. etc. I was never required to do too much because they (most of the players) were very senior to me and they were so mature. It is only when a young boy comes into the team…..that we need to tell him (what to do)….like… don’t do anything which can harm your game or your name before the country…lot of things you can tell the youngsters….think I was fortunate I had all senior guys with me. They were good at times and sometimes they were very bad also. Sometimes, it becomes difficult to deal with personalities as they have ego. You have to deal such guys with extra care, like a cut glass. But in our team, we didn’t have such problems……..

SRIKKANTH ; Ok, Kapil, we were all out for 183 (in the final) .. you told us a few things in the dressing room. but again when we walked out to the field, did you imagine in the wildest of your dreams….Tell us honestly, did you, as a captain, ever think that we have .00001% of winning the cup/finals?

Kapil:  To my mind, reaching the final itself was everything.. I like to prove people wrong…. that’s the thrill I get. when people make a judgement and say India can’t win the cup….west indies will walkover the Indians…( I would like to prove them wrong…. I was disappointed to see the wicket. It wasn’t a wicket for a world-cup final. and I did mention at that moment also that a good wicket for one day is one where you can see lot of runs being scored, not the one on which a team gets all out for 130 or so. We were both advantaged and disadvantaged in that match. West Indies was great side and they had some of the greatest batsmen in their side.(so the pressure was on them). When we saw a green top wicket, we were a bit on the edge. our strength was on a wicket where the ball moved a bit. Having made 183, My Thinking Was ‘ We Have Made It, It Is Now Their Turn”….that was my attitude when we went in to field.

SRIKKANTH ; S, you probably  thought that we still had some chance of making it.

Kapil : yes, even on a flat wicket, with 183 runs I would have given us 50:50 chance.

Srikkanth: that’s good! I can tell you after 15 years, honestly, that I thought we had no chance (of winning the final).

Srikkanth; it is funny that I am talking to you now about the ’83 world-cup, after 15 years, because I have never discussed this with you so long.  It is good to know that you still gave India a fair chance (of winning the cup)

Kapil : That’s because we didn’t reach the final by dint of luck or something. We beat all the teams convincingly on our way to the final. The whole world was thinking that the final would be between the West Indies and England. (I wanted to prove them wrong). It is wrong to write any team off like that. Even a Zimbabwe – West Indies match can produce surprises. Every team has its day!! On a given day, any good player can win a match for his team. I think when we defeated England, everyone started taking us seriously. That was when people started thinking that we can beat the West Indies. That time, our team was playing with a very high spirit.

Srikkanth: you mentioned that our team had some senior players. Can you name a person or a senior player whose advice you thought was very useful to you during the world-cup?

Kapil; Even though Mohinder was vice captain, we had no shortage of players who could give useful advice…, we had Sunil Gavaskar, Kirmani…. Ravi Shastri was young, but he also sometimes used to give advice. Some people like to give advice, some people like to do it themselves. For example, Madan Lal never gave advice, he used to say “give me the ball, I will do it”.  certain people, want to get involved in everything and give advice but except when we got into major difficulties, we never needed it, like when Dujon and Marshall were trying to take the match away from us….that was the time when everybody was a little tensed; it looked so close yet too far away. That was the time when everyone wanted to play his part. You also used to jump in and say “no,no…we should do that” ….it was a good thing that everyone wanted to play his part.  Otherwise, since it was a family like set up and since I never behaved like a captain, we never needed that extra bit of advice. I have always believed that a cricket team should be treated like a family.

Srikkanth: It is good that you always took every member of the team into confidence. So that extra bit of advice was not needed!

Srikkkanth:  Kapil, you always led by example, your approach to cricket and attitude to life has always been positive. I don’t mean to flatter you but it’s an honest feeling about you! Now, coming to the world-cup victory, after winning the world-cup, what did it mean to you OR how did you take it?

Kapil : I don’t think winning it registered in my mind, honestly, at that moment. Winning the world-cup, at that moment, didn’t give me so much thrill at that moment. Winning the cup was definitely big, but we realized the import of it only after months of winning it! Looking back now, I feel it was definitely a great moment in our life! but at that particular moment, I thought it was “just ok to win the cup”…I did not give it the kind of importance as people do today! When you play, you either win or lose, you simply walk out. The real thrill comes when I think we have shown our countrymen that we too can win the world-cup. That’s the importance of the ’83 team. It didn’t hit me immediately but as time went by, the realization started dawning on me.

Srikkanth:  Kaps, after the world-cup, you have had so many great successes. I have myself seen you play some brilliant knocks. Which knock, in your opinion, was your best?

Kapil : In one day cricket, the knock against West Indies at Nagpur where I scored 89 runs was my finest. I will always remember that innings. It is very difficult to point one particular innings as my best after fifteen long years, but this innings will always stand out and it is the one I would point my finger at.

Srikkanth: yes, I remember the flick off Tato right into the stands!!.. Unfortunately, we did not have television coverage during that time in India. I have always felt that you are such a talented batsman and you missed out a lot in your batting; on hindsight, do you feel you could have concentrated on your batting a bit more?

Kapil : If someone had wanted me to, definitely I could have scored a couple of thousand runs more; definitely yes.

Srikkanth : You were one of the very few who was at ease against both pace and spin!

Kapil : I used to play reasonable well! It is very difficult to explain… I consider myself a bowler first and then a batsman. I remember, when I played my first Ranji Trophy, I batted at No.11.

Srikkanth: Oh Gosh!

Kapil: If you look in that sense, I am quite happy about the runs I made! Whatever runs I made were a kind of bonus. If I had given more time to my batting, my bowling would have suffered. As a batsman, I would have had to play for 4 – 5 long hours, and after that I would have to come back and bowl. That would have made me tired. That was my plus point. My idea was not to get tired….to hit around and make quick runs (so I have full energy when I come back to bowl). But not take batting as my ultimate thing….So many times, when the team was in trouble, I tried to change my attitude (give more importance to my batting) but I couldn’t do it too often.

Srikkanth: Coming to your fitness, you were one of the fittest cricketers around. We have never seen you drop yourselves out from any match (owing to fitness problems)

Kapil : From any test match.

Srikkanth: Not only test match, but also one-day matches. I don’t remember you dropping out from any match. How did you manage to maintain your peak level of fitness at all times. Now days, you find lot of people pulling out due to physical fitness problems.

Kapil : I was a bit lucky. Most of my injuries came during off-season. I think off-season period is very important. Unfortunately, players don’t get enough off-season period these days. That is a sad part because they play almost 10 months in a year. If a fast bowler knows how to bowl within himself, go flat out at least 5 every second, third day, his body will be tuned better. As long as you do training, and you learn to bowl within yourself….(you can avoid injuries and lay-offs). Very often, most of the fast bowlers try to overdo things, which make it difficult for them to maintain their fitness.

Srikkanth:   Kapil, I have moved with Romy all these tours; do you think she has played big part in your success?

Kapil:  Romy never got involved with my cricket deeply. She knew it was my department and allowed me to handle it independently. That’s where I think I can give her credit for. As an intelligent wife, she knew where not to cross the line and that made a big difference. When you are successful, success can go to your head. Romy and my family have helped me maintain my balance, and never treated me like a star (which I was to the outside world!) but only as an ordinary family member. This definitely was a calming influence on me and prevented me from going astray. For example, players like (LS) Siva, who were immensely talented, I thought, were not fortunate enough to hold their balance, which affected their cricket. In that sense, I think Romy, my friends, and my family was a big calming influence on me.

Srikkanth: Thanks a lot Kapil for being a part of our show. All the best to you!

Kapil: All the best to you too, and your new ventures and your new program. It’s nice to see past cricketers start new ventures, do something …..rather than do nothing. All the best for the success of your ventures!