Namesakes are interesting. They often make us go down the memory lane. This was the case when the news about a tiff between the popular Indian comedy duo of Kapil Sharma – Sunil Grover hit the headlines. The controversy has been commonly referred as Kapil – Sunil controversy. But, a few cricket fans were quick to recall another controversy created which divide between two cricketing titans with similar names – Kapil Dev and Sunil Gavaskar.
Ahead of the third Test against England at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata during the 1984 home series, Kapil Dev, who had established himself as India’s top all-rounder, was dropped from the starting XI as a reprimand for playing an irresponsible stroke in the second Test of the series, which took place at the Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi.
The news clearly didn’t go down well with the fans and there was a furore over the issue. Fans even went to an extent of chanting ‘No Kapil, No Test’ and pelted Gavaskar with rotten vegetables and fruits.
The incident made Gavaskar furious and he vowed not to play at the venue again. He stood by his words in future when he did not turn up during the India- Pakistan clash at the Eden Gardens in 1986-87.
England pulled themselves back in the second Test at Delhi after losing the opening Test at Wankhede in Mumbai. The match seemed to be heading for a draw as India overhauled the 111-run first innings deficit and were comfortably seated at 207/4 with only around a session to go.
However, soon an unexpected turnaround took place as Sandeep Patil threw away his wicket followed by Kapil Dev playing a rash shot to bring his downfall. This triggered a fatal downfall as India went on to lose their last six wickets for 28 runs, setting England a small 125 runs target which the visitors chased down with eight wickets in hand. The defeat didn’t go down well with Gavaskar, who blamed both Patil and Kapil for the loss.
In the following Test, both Kapil and Sandeep Patil were dropped. Later, Kapil apparently alleged Gavaskar was responsible for his omission. The former Indian skipper, however, claimed he had been late for the selection committee meeting and did not influence any decision. He continues to maintain the same stance even now. Fortunately, the legendary duo do not hold any grudge against each other and have cleared the differences.