Cricket is the most followed sport in India. The viewership of Cricket Matches and the craze of cricket players is an astonishing sight to watch. Kapil Dev Ramlal Nikhang, popularly referred to as Kapil Dev, is one such popular former cricket player. He has formerly served as the Captain of the Indian Cricket team and is credited with taking the popularity of Cricket in India to the next level laying the foundation for a prosperous future for Indian Cricket. In the following article, we will talk about the life events of Kapil Dev in detail.
| Bio/Wiki | |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Kapil Dev Ramlal Nikhanj |
| Nickname(s) | Haryana Hurricane, KD |
| Profession(s) | Cricketer, Businessman |
| Physical Stats & More | |
| Height (approx.) | in centimeters– 183 cm in meters– 1.83 m in feet inches– 6’ |
| Weight (approx.) | in kilograms– 80 kg in pounds– 176 lbs |
| Eye Colour | Dark Brown |
| Hair Colour | Salt & Pepper |
| Cricket | |
| International Debut | ODI– 1 October 1978 against Pakistan at Quetta Test– 16-21 October 1978 against Pakistan at Faisalabad |
| International Retirement | ODI– 17 October 1994 against West Indies at Faridabad Test– 19-23 March 1994 against New Zealand at Hamilton |
| Jersey Number | N/A (during his time, the culture of Jersey Number was not there) |
| Domestic/State Team(s) | • Haryana • Northamptonshire • Worcestershire |
| Coach/Mentor | Desh Prem Azad |
| Batting Style | Right-handed |
| Bowling Style | Right-arm fast-medium |
| Favourite Shot | Hook & Drive |
| Favourite Ball | Out-swing & In-swing Yorker |
| Records (main ones) | Test Cricket • In 1994, Kapil Dev broke Richard Hadlee’s record of the highest Test wicket-taker in the world, which was later broken by Courtney Walsh in 1999 • Only player to have more than 5000 test runs (5248) and 400 wickets (434). • Most innings in a career (184) without being run out • Youngest test cricketer to take 100 (21 years, 25 days), 200 (24 years) and 300 wickets (27 years, 2 days) • Only test captain to take a 9 wicket haul in a test inningsODI Cricket • Highest wicket-taker till his retriement in 1994 (253 wickets) • Highets ever Peak rating (631; on 22 March 1985 • Highest ODI score when batting at number 6 position or lower; as well in World Cup history(175*) • Most number of balls in an ODI innings when batting at number six position in ODI history (138, tied with Neil McCallum) |
| Awards, Honours, Achievements | 1979-80: Arjuna Award
1982: Padma Shri 2010: ICC Cricket Hall of Fame |
| Personal Life | |
| Date of Birth | 6 January 1959 |
| Age (as in 2023) | 65 Years as of 2024 |
| Birthplace | Chandigarh, India |
| Zodiac sign/Sun sign | Capricorn |
| Signature |  |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Hometown | Chandigarh, India |
| School | DAV Senior Secondary School, Sector 8-C, Chandigarh |
| College/University | Did Not Attend |
| Educational Qualification | Not Known |
| Religion | Hinduism |
| Caste | Jat |
| Food Habit | Non-vegetarian |
| Political Inclination | Not Known |
| Address | A sprawling house at Sundar Nagar, Delhi |
| Hobbies | Playing Golf, Table Tennis, and Squash, Watching Films |
| Controversies | • In 1999, at the height of the match-fixing allegation, former BCCI president I S Bindra alleged that Kapil Dev had offered money to Manoj Prabhakar to under-perform during the 1994 India tour of Sri Lanka. Following the allegation, Kapil Dev had to resign as the coach of the Indian National Cricket Team. However, later the charge was dismissed. • In 2016, he came under the Income Tax scanner for purchsing shares of a company at a heavily discounted rate. The cmpany in question was owned by an associate of Yadav Singh – the tainted former Chief Engineer of Noida Authority. According to the IT department report, Dev and his wife Romi Dev with two others were the shareholders of the company named Business Bay Corporate Parks Private Limited. Dev and others brought the shares of the company worth around ₹6 crore when the actual cost, as per the book value, was ₹32 crore. |
| Relationships & More | |
| Marital Status | Married |
| Marriage Date | Year 1980 |
| Family | |
| Wife/Spouse | Romi Bhatia (Entrepreneur) |
| Children | Son– None Daughter– Amiya Dev (born; 16 January 1996) |
| Parents | Father– Ram Lal Nikhanj (teak merchant; died in 1975)
Mother– Raj Kumari Lajwanti (died in 2009) |
| Siblings | Brother(s)– Ramesh (younger; lives in sector-9, Chandigarh), Bhushan (elder; lives in sector-27, Chandigarh)
Sister(s)– Naresh, Manju, Neeru, and Pinky Gill |
| Favourite Things | |
| Favourite Cricketer | Batsmen– Ian Botham, Don Bradman Bowler(s)– Imran Khan, Richard Hadlee |
| Favourite Food(s) | Cheese, Thai and Italian Cuisines |
| Style Quotient | |
| Car(s) Collection | • Four-door Porsche Panamera sedan
• C-Class Mercedes (HR 26 DA 1983) |
| Assets/Properties | • Elevens – The Kaptains Retreat restaurant in Sector-35, Chandigarh • Elevens – The Kaptains Retreat restaurant at Fraser Road in Patna, Bihar • 5% stake in Zicom Electronics • Dev Musco Lighting Pvt Limited in partnership with Musco Lighting to install floodlights in sports venues in India • SAMCO Ventures; holding company for SAMCO Securities |
| Money Factor | |
| Salary (as the Coach of the Indian National Cricket Team during 1999-2000) | ₹5 lakh per match + bonus |
| https://www.instagram.com/therealkapildev/ | |
Early Life of Kapil Dev
Chandigarh is the home city of Kapil Dev. Kapil Dev was born in the family of Ram Lal Nikhanj and Rajkumari on January 6, 1959. His father was a teak merchant by profession, and his mother was a housewife. The family of Kapil Dev originally belonged to the Montgomery district situated in present-day Pakistan.
The family moved to the region of Fazilka in Punjab after the partition and then finally settled down in Chandigarh. Kapil completed his initial studies at the D.A.V. School in Chandigarh.
Personal Life of Kapil Dev
In 1980, Kapil Dev married Romi Bhatia. The couple welcomed their daughter in January 1996 and named her Amiya Dev. Along with Cricket, Kapil was always very passionate about Golf. As a result, he actively took part in Golf and was among the founding members of the Laureus Foundation in 2000.
In 2020, the health of Kapil Dev deteriorated, and he suffered a heart attack. He was soon hospitalized and understood surgery. After remaining in hospital for a few weeks, he was discharged, and his health improved significantly.
Books by Kapil Dev
Besides Cricket, Kapil Dev is also a hobby writer. His beautiful writing skill is evident in his four books on Sikhism and Personal Life.
The list of Books written by Kapil Dev is as follows:
Some Lesser Known Facts About Kapil Dev
- Does Kapil Dev smoke?: No
- Does Kapil Dev drink alcohol?: Yes
- He was born into a modest business family. His father, Ram Lal Nikhanj, was a builder and timber contractor in Chandigarh.
- After India’s partition, his parents had migrated from Montgomery, which is now Sahiwal in Pakistan, to Fazilka in Punjab (India).
- After spending some years in Fazilka, later, his family moved to Chandigarh.
- Kapil Dev did his schooling from the DAV School in Chandigarh, and it was there that he had developed an interest in Cricket.
- Former sports in charge of DAV Senior Secondary School, Sector 8-C, V.P. Paul, says-
- In 1971, he joined Desh Prem Azad to learn the basics of cricket.
- Quite interestingly, Kapil Dev did not play his first game of cricket till the age of 13.
- His entry into cricket happened by accident. One Sunday, the Sector 16 team of Chandigarh was one player short, and Kapil was roped in. His elder brother, Bhushan Nikhanj, who is 3 years older to Kapil, gave him the biggest encouragement.
- Recalling the first meeting with Kapil Dev, Desh Prem Azad (Kapil Dev’s mentor), had said-
- When Ram Lal Nikhanj (Kapil’s father) spoke to Azad and assured him about Kapil, the lad was taken for coaching. Thus began a long unbroken partnership.
- In early days, Kapil used to play in weekend matches. During the late 1960s and 1970s, matches between Pal Club and King Crown Club were the most keenly contested. The losers had to treat the winners to channa-puri at a popular Sector 27 restaurant in Chandigarh.
- In November 1975, still two months short of his 17th birthday, Kapil Dev made his first-class debut playing for his home state Haryana against Punjab; where he got 6 wickets for just 39 runs. However, the same year, his father passed away; without seeing his son to conquer the world of Cricket.
- Then came a minor heartbreak, when Kapil was not selected to play in the final eleven of the Combined Universities team to play against Tony Greg’s English side at Nagpur.
- He played for Haryana for a long time (17 years) from 1975 to 1992.
- Kapil Dev made his international debut in 1978 against Pakistan, and a new star had been born.
- Soon, he modified his action on the advice of Sunil Gavaskar and started bowling from closer to the stumps to make his already lethal outswingers even more effective.
- There was another Sunil in Kapil Dev’s life, Sunil Bhatia, who introduced him to Romi Bhatia, now his wife.