When They Removed Me As Captain, I Told Myself I Must Have Not Done Something Good – Kapil Dev
Updated - 21 Oct 2021, 07:51 PM
The Legendary Indian all-rounder Kapil Dev who was the first Indian captain to win the World Cup in 1983, has discussed about his captaincy journey in the Indian team.
Kapil Dev opened up about the time when he was removed from captaincy in 1984 for a match at the Eden Gardens. The World Cup-winning captain in CRED’s latest series ‘The Long Game’ stated:
“When they made me captain, I don’t think I deserved it, and when they removed me as captain, I told myself I must have not done something good.
Former Indian all-rounder stated that for a captain, whenever a team wins the match, it is never ‘I won’, but when a team faces a defeat, the captain has been blamed. He stated:
” But one thing I know about captaincy is – when we win it is never ‘I won’ but when we lose, the captain has to take the responsibility. What you need however as a captain most is commitment from the team. Talented people can still let you down but people who are committed will never let you down.”
I Could Not Tell Sunil Gavaskar, Mohinder Amarnath, Madan Lal, (Syed) Kirmani How To Do Their Job – Kapil Dev
Kapil was named as the captain of the Indian team at the age of just 23, and he had several senior cricketers around. Talking about his early days as an Indian skipper Kapil Dev asserted:
“I was very young. I had so many senior and remarkably talented cricketers with me and my job was to take them along. I could not tell Sunil Gavaskar, Mohinder Amarnath, Madan Lal, (Syed) Kirmani how to do their job.
“I had to make sure I kept them together and I always said one thing – once you enter the cricket ground nobody is better than you. Respect the opponent as much as you can before the match or after the match and when you are on the field, nobody is better than you.”
“Sunil Gavaskar was so committed to his work which was inspirational. Sometimes you learn from your colleagues. Once he said you can’t make a hundred in one over so you have to keep small targets. You should have a target of 15 runs, 40 runs, 60 runs, 80 runs and then you can reach a 100. Don’t put pressure on yourself straight away to reach a 100,”
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India National Cricket Team Kapil Dev Sunil Gavaskar
