Happy Birthday Kapil Dev
Kapil Dev turns 67, let's take a look at this photo collection and find out how Kapil Dev led India to World Cup Glory and changed Indian Cricket forever
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Happy Birthday Kapil Dev: From two rotis to World Cup Glory, How Kapil Dev changed Indian Cricket forever
Kapil Dev turns 67, let's take a look at this photo collection and know how Kapil Dev led India to World Cup Glory and changed Indian Cricket forever
By Sruti Thakur | Updated: January 6, 2026 5:16 AM IST
Kapil Dev is the only Indian to score 4000 runs and grab 400 wickets
Kapil Dev turns 67 today and remains the only Indian to score 4,000 runs and take 400 wickets in Test cricket, a standard that continues to define greatness for all-rounders.
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From two chapatis to Cricket greatness
It was the mid-1970s, when Kapil Dev Nikhanj had come to Bombay for an Under-19 camp. After the training session he was given just two chapatis and some vegetables for lunch
Kapil Dev promised to become the fast bowler India lacked
For a teenager the food was far from sufficient. When he spoke up, camps administrator's Tarapore's words hit him hard, not out of cruelty, but because they were true. He finished his two rotis, went back to his room, and made a decision, that he would become the fast bowler India was said to lack.
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Kapil Dev filled the most crucial gap in India's line-up.
Before Kapil, Indian cricket heavily relied on Sunil Gavaskar's technical mastery and the cunning of the spin quartet. While Gavaskar, the "Little Master," could bat for days to save a Test but India lacked genuine fast-bowling option. Kapil Dev filled the most crucial gap in India's line-up.
Kapil Dev made his Test debut against Pakistan in 1978
At just 19, Kapil made his debut when India returned to Pakistan after 17 years. He was impossible to miss, broad-shouldered, with a striking moustache and eyes full of fire. He charged in to bowl as though he had a purpose to fulfill.
The over that annuonced Kapil Dev to the World
In just his career's second over, Kapil Dev changed the course of the game, the ball rose sharply, barely missing Sadiq's cap. Confused at first and then alarmed, Sadiq signaled to the dressing room, requesting a helmet.
Kapil Dev made Pakistan players wear helmet
It was 1978. Helmets were meant for batsmen taking on the West Indies pacers, Indians who had faced Charlie Griffith and Michael Holding. They weren't for Pakistan facing an Indian bowler.
Kapil Dev stat's in his first 62 Tests
Kapil Dev's stat inspires modern bowlers. In his first 62 Tests, he played every match without missing a single one. He picked 247 wickets during that period, while all other Indian pacers together managed only 173.
Kapil Dev's stat in 131 Test
Over his entire 131-Test career, the rest of India's fast bowlers combined took 422 wickets, and not a single one of them reached the 100-wicket mark.
Kapil Dev career stat
Before turning 25, Kapil Dev had already taken close to 250 wickets and scored nearly 2,500 runs. He was also India's leading wicket-taker in ODIs and, for a long period, their highest run-scorer in the format. At the time, he was the only Indian to have both an ODI century and a five-wicket haul.
ndia lifted their maiden ICC trophy on June 25, 1983 at Lord's
Under the leadership of Kapil Dev, India lifted their maiden ICC trophy on June 25, 1983 at Lord's.
The chapati incident that forged Kapil Dev's legacy
The Tarapore chapati incident could have shattered him, but instead it shaped him—turning the insult into direction, every practice session into an answer, and every wicket into proof.