Virender Sehwag opened the door for Indian cricket: Kapil Dev

Kapil Dev, arguably the best all-rounder India had ever produced, cherished some moments from Indian cricket as India is currently featuring in the historic 500th Test match.

The skipper, who won the first world cup for India in 1983, selected the World Cup win as the favourite memory of his career. Whereas, as far as the Test cricket is concerned, he says that the tied Test match against Australia in Madras in 1986 would remain fresh in his memories forever.

“Some people will mention matches India have won, but for me, the greatest Test I was involved in was the tied Test against Australia in Madras in 1986.

It was memorable also because I scored a century and was joint ‘Man of the Match’ with Dean Jones, but more because of the experience. It was a historic moment to be a part of. As for a Test series, it has to be the time we won 2-0 in England in 1986,” said the former skipper.

“Some people will mention matches India have won, but for me, the greatest Test I was involved in was the tied Test against Australia in Madras in 1986.”

“It was memorable also because I scored a century and was joint Man of the Match with Dean Jones, but more because of the experience. It was a historic moment to be a part of. As for a Test series, it has to be the time we won 2-0 in England in 1986,” said the former skipper”

Kapil Dev, who has 434 Test wickets against his name, said that his favourite performance in Test cricket was when he got his 400th wicket and then his 432nd wicket which took him past Sir Richard Hadlee’s record.

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“It’s not just because I was proud of my achievement, it was about being an Indian. Our pitches, our cricket, everything was different. For an Indian pacer to take so many Test wickets was a huge achievement. A lot of people talk about the 9 for 83 in Ahmedabad against West Indies, but that was fine. I was happy with that. But, in totality, one thing stands out: the 432nd wicket,” said the 57-year old.

The famous win against Australia in Kolkata in 2001 is his most significant moment in Indian Test cricket. Stupendous batting show by VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid backed up by some brilliant bowling performance from Harbhajan Singh scripted this great victory.

When asked about the favourite Indian batsmen and bowler, he said that there are quite a few batsmen to be mentioned but just one bowler – Anil Kumble – the most successful Indian bowler. “My favourite early on was Viswanath – what a batsman!”

“But the more I played with Sunil Gavaskar, the more I realised how good he was. He was technically very sound, especially against genuine pace bowling. Those days, so many young kids wanted to be like Gavaskar,” he said.

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He continued, “Then these young boys in the last 15-20 years. Rahul. Sachin (Tendulkar). No point talking about Sachin. It’s like mentioning Don Bradman. Sachin is an obvious choice. Then Virender Sehwag turned it around; he changed Indian cricket.”

“We were subdued, and he came out like a flash. He was unbelievable. Sehwag, one has to say, was a genius. Uncomplicated. Now there is Virat Kohli. But Sehwag opened the door for Indian cricket.”

Speaking about the current team, he said that it won’t be fair to compare this team to the team of the 2000s. “It’s very tough for any generation to reach the level of the Indian team of the 2000s. But they have shown glimpses.”

“Virat Kohli is an excellent player. There are some others, like (R) Ashwin. He is getting better day by day. You can’t say there is anyone better than him. He is an excellent allrounder. But you have to give all these boys 60-70 Tests before you can judge them properly,” he concluded.