The World Cup-winning captain Kapil Dev shared a story while playing under the captaincy of Bishan Singh Bedi in his early days. He revealed that he was being scolded when he was given nightwatchman duty during a Test match against Pakistan in Lahore.
On ‘No Filter Neha’ podcast on Saavn with Bollywood actress Neha Dhupia, the allrounder stated that as he was a newcomer in the team and so, got a lot of shouting but also was equally loved by Bishan Singh. He also revealed that things also get entangled between him and the captain because of the language barrier.
“Oh, when I played my first series in Pakistan, he was a captain and he was a Punjabi. So two things were very important. He couldn’t understand my language. I couldn’t understand his language because he was half English man. He had an accent and he talked such a great finesse.
“Bishan paaji, I remember the first shouting I got from him, but a lot of love and affection we got from him as well. I mean, enormous. I can’t even express how much love and affection he’s given us as youngsters,” he recalled.
He said night watchman meaning samjho pehle: Kapil Dev recounts old memories
Kapil Dev recalled that during a Lahore Test, he was sent as a night watchman to play as a five over. Rather than playing a defensive role, he went to play aggressive inning, scoring unbeaten 22 runs in two overs. He thought the captain would be happy with him besides he was scolded.
“But, in Lahore test, he sent me as a night watchman. Woh jo last ke 5 over hote hai na khelne ke liye. He said to me, ‘Okay, let Kapil go as main batsman is out.’ I was number 9, 10 batting. So main jaake khela and in two overs, I made 22 not out and overnight I was very happy that I made so many runs.
“I comeback to the dressing room, he got a hold of me, ‘He said, oye, pehelwan, terko night watchman ka matlab pata hai?’ And, I said pata nahi meri tareef kar rahe hai ya data laga rahe hai, I said haanji paaji, yes paaji.
“Aaawaz hi nahi nikalti thi. Maine kahan paaji but woh mere idhar ball diye jaa rahe the toh main mare jaa raha tha, merko aata hi nahi rokna. Toh he said night watchman meaning samjho pehle,” Kapil Dev further said.
Kapil Dev went to become the first captain of India to take the World Cup trophy home in 1983 after beating the dangerous West Indies. The movie based on it will also be soon released in cinemas.