‘Was scared of him’ – Kapil Dev on how former Indian skipper S Venkataraghavan fired up on seeing him

Kapil Dev, the former Indian skipper, said that he was scared of S Venkataraghvan when he first came into the side back in 1978-79. Kapil made his debut back in 1978 under Bishen Singh Bedi’s leadership and also plied his trade with Sunil Gavaskar as the captain. The veteran also played four Tests and three ODIs under Venkataraghavan’s captaincy.

Venkataraghavan, who later went on to become one of the most popular umpires, gave Kapil, also the 1983 World Cup-winning skipper, a hard time. He said that Venkataraghavan used to get angry on seeing him. The now 61-year-old Kapil put forth his opinions during an interview with former Indian batsman WV Raman.

He only used to speak in English, says Kapil Dev

“In England the evening break during a Test match is called a Tea break. Venkataraghavan always used to argue and fought saying why only tea break? It should be tea and coffee break. So, he was like that,” Kapil told.

“I was very scared of him. Firstly, he only used to speak in English and secondly we all know his anger. Even when he was an umpire he used to give not out in a way as if he was scolding the bowler. When I went to England in 79, he was captain, I used to find a place where he can’t see me.

“We had Bedi, Prasanna, Chandrasekhar, so he couldn’t really say much to them. And naturally whenever he saw me, he used to fire up. I used to have breakfast sitting in one corner because I was a heavy eater and he would be like ‘he’s always eating,’” he added.

Kapil also narrated an incident from the 1983 Barbados Test against the West Indies where he was the skipper with Venkataraghvan as his teammate. Kapil was a little taken aback after his mate asked him about the bowling changes with authority despite Kapil being at the helm.

Venkataraghvan retired from the game in 1983 after playing 57 Tests and 15 ODIs in which he churned out 156 and five wickets respectively. As far as Kapil is concerned, he went on to become one of India’s greatest all-rounders.