Kapil Dev reveals how he overcame his superstitions during his playing days

India is a country dominated by superstitions and we have seen examples of the same in the cricketing world too. Superstitions have got the better of some of India’s biggest talents and perhaps have helped them become what they are today.

While the stories of Sachin Tendulkar putting on the left pad first. Zaheer Khan’s lucky handkerchief and Ravichandran Ashwin’s bag of luck during the 2011 World Cup triumph have been popular, there were many others that are still unknown.

The main story:

Kapil Dev, one of the greatest all-rounders the world has ever seen, also had some superstitions of his own. The World Cup winning captain recently threw some light on how he managed to overcome them.

“There is a lot of superstition. Even when you are watching a match at home and if India is playing well, they (family) do not allow you to leave. I think everyone has their own beliefs. That is why this game is so popular,” said Kapil Dev as he started narrating his stories.

“When I was a youngster, I too had my own set of beliefs. I would always wear the left pad first and put the right foot first on the ground. These were little things… do the right things in life,” added Kapil on What the Duck Show.

Kapil Dev then went on to share the incident which got him free of his superstitions. He took us to a match when he almost got out because his chain came into contact with his bat while playing a shot. The ball went back to the keeper and had the umpire confused the sound of the chain with th sound of the ball hitting the bat, Kapil was sure to make his way back to the pavilion. But luckily the umpire gave the right decision.

“I would wear a slim chain with a Lord Shiva pendant because a sportsman is always a little scared. You (want to) keep God close to your heart. I played a shot and my chain touched the bat and it made a sound. The chain was quite long and it came out. There was an appeal (for caught behind). Luckily, the umpire gave not out. I was relaxed. But in the evening, I removed the chain and kada (bracelet). And I thought about my life’s self-beliefs. Said Kapil.

He continued “My inner voice said that maybe these chains will not score runs for me. If God is there, then he’s there. If you look at a top swimmer at Olympics level, they shave all their body hair so that they can swim even faster. And here (in cricket), we wear so many things and make ourselves heavy. Today, when I observe a few players, adjusting their chains after every ball, I feel their mind… second thought is here.

The curly haired legend also said that it gives him a moment of laughter when he sees batsmen struggling with their chains after every ball. Kapil pointed out that these cricketers lack the self-belief that is required.

“So, to avoid it, I got rid of my chain and the bracelet. If I had the ability, then I will score runs. A chain or any other thing is not going to score runs for me. I wanted to know if I can make runs without them. Somehow, I freed myself from all these things. When I see some players today, I laugh. They still don’t have the self-belief in them. They don’t have self-realisation,” said Kapil.