'Youngest Captain to win Cricket World Cup' - Fans wish former India legend Kapil Dev on his birthday

Former India captain, Kapil Dev celebrated his 66th birthday on Monday. Dev is revered as the iconic 1983 World Cup-winning Captain. Born on January 6, 1959, he went on to become one of the finest all-rounders of India. When the cricket world was questioning India’s ability to win games, he led the team to a memorable World Cup win in Lords in 1983. 

The Chandigarh-born cricketer is known for his ability to swing the ball both ways. He represented India in 131 Tests and 225 ODIs. The all-rounder has 434 wickets and scored 5,248 runs to his name in whites for India. In ODIs, he has 253 wickets and 3783 runs to boast of. He has smashed nine centuries in both Tests and ODIs combined. The right-arm pacer has 20 four-fers, 24 fifers and two 10-wicket hauls.

He also led India to two Asia Cup titles in 1988 and 1991. His unbeaten 175-run knock against mighty Zimbabwe in the 1983 World Cup is considered one of the iconic innings in cricket history. He came out to bat when India were reduced to 17/5 and he smashed 16 boundaries and six maximums as India ended up winning the game by 31 runs to stay alive in the competition. 

He was also the first player to take 200 ODI wickets and held the record for taking the highest number of Test wickets before Courtney Walsh surpassed him in 2000. The right-handed batter announced his retirement in 1994 and the veteran holds the record of being the youngest captain, at the age of 24, to win the World Cup for any team. 

Here's how the fans wished Kapil Dev on his birthday: