‘We came to realise the importance of teamwork’ - Kirti Azad reflects on significant lessons from 1983 World Cup win

Team India recently celebrated 40 years of their maiden ODI World Cup. As the heroes of the 1983 World Cup gathered to celebrate the momentous occasion, there were also talks around that the side went into the tournament as the underdogs; however, Kapil Dev and his men pulled off the impossible as they defeated some of the best teams in the world and clinched the coveted title.

Led by Kapil Dev, India took on the mighty West Indies in the summit clash of the competition, and where everyone thought that this would be the end of the road for the underdogs, the side pulled off the impossible. Defeating the West Indies by 43 runs, India won the World Cup. 

Former Indian all-rounder Kirti Azad, who was a part of the legendary 1983 World Cup winning squad, came forward to reflect on the biggest learning from the tournament. Azad opined that team India learned the importance of teamwork from the competition.

"We came to realise the importance of teamwork. True, individual brilliance counts in cricket, but one of the biggest points we drove home was that 11 players have to come together to pull off miracles. We pulled one off at Lord’s. No one gave us a chance when we landed in England for the Cup," Kirti Azad said in an interview with Sportstar.

"We would have been happy to just qualify because our previous two World Cup appearances were dismal. We learned and improved from every game, and the belief that we belonged to the competition was the driving force for the team," he added.

India became a cricket powerhouse: Azad

Furthermore, Azad also revealed what impact the World Cup win had on the country. He opined that through the win, India became a powerhouse in the sport and even hosted the tournament in 1987.

"It was huge. India became a cricket powerhouse. We won the Cup at Lord’s and became the hosts for the next edition in 1987. The World Cup travelled outside England for the first time. The world came to accept that India could play good cricket and also become a great host. One of the biggest gains was that it inspired a host of youngsters to play cricket, and Sachin Tendulkar was one of them. The 1983 win changed the way the game was played in India," Azad said.