Former India all-rounder Kapil Dev recalled his cricketing memories while being inducted into the ‘Hall of Fame’ on January 17, in the Legends Club which was started by former Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) President Raj Singh Dungarpur in 2003.
“I am humbled. We always look up to Mumbai as it was where the cricket was played. I come from small town, did know nothing about cricket. It was just the passion,” Dev was quoted as saying by DNA.
Former India captains Ajit Wadekar, Sunil Gavaskar and Nari Contractor were also present at the felicitation programme including former Test cricketer Madhav Apte, who presented the citation to Dev.
The 58-year-old Chandigarh-born Dev enthralled the audience with his witty remarks at the CK Nayudu Hall at the Cricket Club of India.
“My wife is from Bombay. Things have changed suddenly since when I started. When I was about to get married, Romie’s grandfather asked her: ‘Ladka kya karta hai? Cricket khelta hai theek hai, par karta kya hai’,” Kapil added.
Dev, who was the first Indian to bag 400 Test wickets, also talked about the nitty-gritty’s of the game while stating cricket has changed a lot.
“We had passion for the game and were not looking for rewards and awards or anything. At that time, we had so much of passion,” Kapil Dev said.
The veteran all-rounder led India to their first ever One-Day International World Cup win in 1983 against the West Indies at the Lord’s.
“It is thanks to Mumbai cricket and the people who kept the game alive, had you not played seriously I don’t think it would have reach this far,” he said while thanking his fans.
While praising his former skipper Sunil Gavaskar, Dev said he was the best fit for cricket.
“Sunil was grammar of cricket, without grammar, I played little bit of cricket. For Sunil, I can only say, he was not best in the game, but best for the game,” Dev said on Gavaskar.
Dev also told the gathering that he avoided the media when he was not able to speak fluent English.
“My first interview with the media was for an English daily. The Mumbai media still understands Hindi, but that reporter was from Madras. I was shy or I did not have the confidence off the field,” he explained.