Ringing the Eden Bell will be a special moment for me: Kapil Dev

India’s most successful all-rounder and 1983 World Cup winning skipper Kapil Dev will be the first gentleman to walk out at the Eden Gardens on Friday morning and ring the Lord’s type bell installed at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata.

When Sourav Ganguly got a Lord’s-type bell installed at the Eden Gardens the first call he made was to Kapil, with a simple request. “Paaji, I want you to ring the bell the first time ever,” and Kapil responded with, “Anything for you, Dada”.

The bell will be rung for five minutes before the start of the play just like it happened at the prestigious Lord’s stadium. The umpires and the players will walk out for the start of the second India-New Zealand Test on Friday only after Kapil will do the honours by ringing the bell in a ceremony specially conducted by Cricket Association of Bengal.

Speaking to Aaj Tak, Kapil said: “I have done it at the Lord’s but doing it in our own ground, and that too the Eden Gardens will be an honour for me. It was sweet of Sourav to think of me as the first one to ring it and I am looking forward to it.”

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Kapil will be in Kolkata as a commentator and thinks of it as a good tradition. “Today it is me, tomorrow it will be somebody else. That’s how I see it and former players will feel part of the action. Eden Gardens is one of the most special grounds for Indians and you feel the aura around that place when you go out there. It will be a special moment for me too. I wish Sourav, CAB and the cricket-loving people in Kolkata the best of this Test match,” Kapil added.