1983 World Cup win was a HUGE moment, changed entire belief system, says Murali Kartik before 80th Independence Day | EXCLUSIVE
Team India will begin first Test against Sri Lanka in the two-match series on their 80th Independence Day on Saturday in Galle.
Kapil Dev led India to their first ODI World Cup title in 1983. (Source: X)
India vs Sri Lanka 2026 1st Test: Shubman Gill's Team India will begin the two-match Test series against Sri Lanka on a special day the country's 80th Independence Day on Saturday. Since India got Independence in 1983, the country has seen plenty of landmark moments on the cricket field from 2011 ODI World Cup win to 2007, 2024 and 2026 T20 World Cup triumphs.
It is always a difficult proposition to pick one path-breaking triumph since Independence Day. Former India left-arm spinner Murali Kartik spoke to India.com and shared the one cricket success which changed India cricket's eco-system.
Ahead of the first Test between India and Sri Lanka at Galle, Kartik spoke to a select group of media, including India.com. Asked about Indian cricket's biggest moment since gaining Independence in 1947, Kartik said it was the 1983 ODI World Cup win under captain Kapil Dev.
"The 1983 World Cup win was a huge, huge moment, because that inspired a lot of young people to take up the game. You think of one moment, and I'm thinking for other sports in India as well," Kartik told India.com.
"Imagine somebody doing something similar in other sports winning a major in golf or doing something spectacular in tennis. It actually inspires us. How did we all start playing the game? It is because we were inspired by somebody. That is the reason why you have somebody trying to copy Jasprit Bumrah or a Harbajan Singh or a Anil Kumble or Ravichandran Ashwin.
"If you can even inspire 1 per cent of the population, I think you've done a great job. So, from that point of view, I think 1983 was a huge moment, because things changed around, the belief system changed that we can also do it at the highest stage," Kartik said.
Kapil Dev's Team India defeated two-time champions West Indies to win their ODI World Cup title in 1983 at Lord's in London. India had to wait another 28 years for their next ODI World Cup titles, which came under the captaincy of MS Dhoni in 2011.
In T20 cricket, India have won three World Cups the first one again under Dhoni in 2007. Rohit Sharma helped India become T20 World Cup champions for the second time in 2024 in West Indies and Suryakumar Yadav's side became the first team to defend the title winning in 2026 earlier this year in March.
Kartik turned out in 8 Tests and 37 ODIs for Team India in his career, claiming 24 and 37 wickets respectively. The 49-year-old left-arm spinner also snared 644 wickets in first-class cricket.
The former Kolkata Knight Riders and Punjab Kings star, however, refused to name a single player who can be called the 'greatest Indian cricketers' since Independence.
"Again, from a single point of view, as I said, I'm not going to name anyone, because all of them have played a huge part in where we are. It's an exclusive club," Kartik said.
"It's not a club where you can pay and get into. People work really hard to wear that India cap, and what, 705 players have played for India or 706 have played for India, if I've got my stats right across all three formats. So that's a very exclusive club and I'm pretty sure everybody has played a big part in getting India where it is," he added.
Kartik believes that it will be an injustice to name only one cricketer as an inspiration for the sport. "We are in a better position because of what someone else did for us. So, from that point of view, think of what the first Indian team and what they had to endure, and what they had to do and from that, if you take the history of India to where it is right now, we are one of the powerhouses of world cricket," he felt.
(Watch Sri Lanka vs. India 1st Test Day 1 on August 15, 2026, from 10 AM IST live on Sony Sports Ten 1 SD & HD & Sony LIV)
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