Kapil Dev

Kapil Dev was one of the greatest pace bowler and fast bowling all-rounders of all time. 

He is the only player in the history of cricket to have taken more than 400 wickets and scored more than 5,000 runs in Tests thereby making him one of the greatest all-rounders to have played the game.

Life of Kapil Dev

Kapil Dev Ramlal Nikhanj was born on 6 January 1959 in Chandigarh to Ram Lal Nikhanj and Raj Kumari. Kapil Dev was a student at D.A.V. School and joined Desh Prem Azad in 1971.

Later he attended St. Edward's School in Shimla. Kapil is married to Romi Bhatia and has a daughter with her. Post retirement from cricket Kapil took up golf. The player has written three autobiographical works namely 'By God's Decree', 'Cricket my style' and 'Straight from the Heart'.

Sports career of Kapil Dev

Kapil Dev is one of the greatest cricketers that India has produced. He is an all rounder known for bowling, batting and exceptional fielding. Kapil was a right-arm pace bowler noted for his graceful action and potent outs winger. He was India's main strike bowler for most of his career. 

He also developed a fine ins winging Yorker during the 1980s which he used very effectively against tail-enders. As a batsman, he was a natural striker of the ball who could hook and drive effectively.

Kapil held the world record for the most number of wickets taken in Test cricket which was subsequently broken by Courtney Walsh in 2000. 

Kapil Dev was also India's highest wicket taker in both major forms of cricket, Tests and ODIs. Kapil Dev is the only player in the history of cricket to have taken more than 400 wickets and scored more than 5,000 runs in Tests thereby making him one of the greatest all-rounders to have played the game. 

He also holds the record for the most innings in a complete career without being run out and is also the youngest test cricketer to take 300 wickets.


Kapil Dev made an impressive debut in November 1975 for Haryana against Punjab with a 6 wicket haul thereby restricting Punjab to just 63 runs and helping Haryana to victory. Nicknamed The Haryana Hurricane, he represented the Haryana cricket team in domestic cricket. 

In the 1990–91 Ranji season, kapil won the Ranji Trophy championship. He made his Test cricket debut on 16 October 1978 in Faisalabad, Pakistan. He showcased his all-rounder talent and his premier fast bowling speed in the matches that followed.

Kapil Dev debuted as India's captain in the 1982–83 season against Sri Lanka. The 1983 Cricket World Cup was won by India with Kapil Dev as Captain of the team. By the end of 1983 Kapil already had about 250 Test wickets in just five years and was becoming one of the most prolific wicket-takers ever. 

He continued as India's lead pace bowler under a succession of captains in the early 1990s. He retired in 1994. Post retirement Kapil Dev was India's national cricket coach for 10 months between October 1999 and August 2000. On 8 March 2010 Kapil Dev was inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame.

Awards and achievements of Kapil Dev