18 Facts about Kapil Dev - The Haryana Hurricane

Kapil Dev the greatest fast-bowling all-rounder India has ever produced and perhaps the greatest fast bowler as well. India had always had to bear the brunt of not producing quality fast bowlers and Kapil broke this stereotype. He had the stamina of the marathon runner and could bowl at a speed of 140 kmph without breaking down. His fast pace earned him the nickname, ‘Haryana Hurricane’. His strength, however, was not pace, it was his outstanding accuracy and ability to swing the ball late and away from right-handers. Kapil Dev’s role in taking the popularity of cricket and fast bowling in India can never be overlooked. Here are some interesting facts about Kapil Dev.

1. Born:

Kapil Dev Ramlal Nikhanj was born on 6th January 1959 in Chandigarh, Punjab.

2. Family:

Kapil Dev was born to Ram Lal Nikhanj, a building and timber contractor and his wife Raj Kumari. His parents had migrated from Rawalpindi, Punjab during the partition of India.

3. Education:

He was a student at D.A.V. School and joined Desh Prem Azad in 1971.

4. Highly impressive debut:

On his first-class debut for Haryana in November 1975, Kapil took a six-wicket haul and restricted Punjab for 63 runs. Kapil finished his debut first-class season (1975-76) with 121 wickets in 30 matches.

5. Long domestic career:

He played for Haryana for 17 years and was a constant member of the team from 1975 to 1992.

6. International debut:

Kapil Dev played his first Test match against Pakistan in Faisalabad on October 16, 1978. However, it wasn’t a great one as he could take only one wicket in the drawn match. His only victim was Sadiq Mohammad. However, the Pakistan batsmen were startled with his pace and bounce. He had struck them with bouncers that struck their helmets on many occasion in that match.

7. Never run out:

He was never run out in his in 184 Test innings long career.

8. 100 wickets and 1000 runs:

Kapil Dev was the youngest Test player to achieve the all-round double of 100 wickets and 1,000 runs.

9. Highest wicket taker in Tests and ODIs:

On February 8, 1994, he took the wicket of the Sri Lanka’s Harshan Tillekeratne, to go past Hadlee’s world record haul of 431 wickets and retired with 434 wickets. He held the world record for eight years. It was then broken by West Indies fast bowler, Courtney Walsh in the year, 2000. In 1988, Kapil overtook Joel Garner to become the highest wicket-taker in ODI cricket. His final career tally of 253 wickets remained a record until it was broken by Wasim Akram in 1994.

10. The 1983 World cup:

303 runs, 12 wickets and 7 catches in 8 matches – this was Kapil Dev’s statistics in the 1983 World Cup. His extraordinary knock of 175 runs against Zimbabwe saved India from being ousted from the quarter-finals. India went on to lift the cup when they defeated the mighty West Indian team in the final match. It was one of the biggest moments of glory in Indian cricket and brought a major turnaround for the sport in the country.

11. Four consecutive sixes:

He was an aggressive batsman who had a penchant for hitting sixes frequently. He was involved in a notable incident during the Lord’s Test match of 1990 when he hit off-spinner Eddie Hemmings for four sixes in succession to take India past the follow-on target.

12. A stallion:

Kapil Dev never missed a Test because of injury or fitness reasons in a career that spanned 131 Tests spread over 16 years.

13. A patriot by heart:

He joined the Indian Territorial Army as an honorary Lieutenant Colonel on September 24, 2008.

14. Cricketer of the Century:

Kapil Dev was voted as India’s Cricketer of the Century during 2002, ahead of Sunil Gavaskar and Sachin Tendulkar.

15. Post-retirement:

After retirement from cricket in 1994, Kapil Dev took up golf. He was the only Asian founding member of Laureus Foundation in 2000. Ian Botham and Viv Richards were the other two cricketers on the founding member council of 40. Steve Waugh was added to the Academy members in 2006 when it was expanded from 40 to 42.

16. Coaching stint:

He was appointed coach of the Indian national cricket team in 1999, succeeding Anshuman Gaekwad. He had a rather ordinary stint as India’s coach for 10 months between October 1999 and August 2000. He was also dragged into the match-fixing controversy by Manoj Prabhakar. But, these charges were subsequently dismissed. However, Kapil resigned as coach following this controversy.

17. Personal life:

Kapil Dev is married to Romi Bhatia. He was introduced to her by a common friend in 1979 and proposed to her in 1980. The couple married in 1980 and had a daughter, Amiya Dev, on 16 January 1996.

18. Autobiography:

He has written three autobiographical works. By ‘God’s Decree’ came out in 1985 and ‘Cricket my style’ in 1987. He released his most recent autobiography, titled ‘Straight from the Heart’ in 2004.