sportsWikipedia1978–1994 · India

Kapil Dev is the only cricketer with 400 Test wickets and 5,000 Test runs

the gist

Kapil Dev, born in 1959, is regarded as one of cricket's greatest all-rounders: a fast-medium bowler who also hit hard in the middle order. He is the only player in Test history to take more than 400 wickets (434) and score more than 5,000 runs. As captain he led India to the 1983 Cricket World Cup at 24, still the youngest captain to win the tournament. When he retired in 1994 he was the first player to take 200 one-day international wickets and held the Test wicket record until Courtney Walsh passed it in 2000.

how it works

An all-rounder is valuable because he fills two places in the team: his batting and bowling together let a side field an extra specialist. Kapil's record combined both, which is why a 400-wicket, 5,000-run double is so rare.

so what

His 1983 win, by a team not considered favourites, is widely seen as the moment cricket's popularity in India took off. Wisden named him India's Cricketer of the Century in 2002, and he entered the ICC Hall of Fame in 2010.

fun fact

His 175 not out against Zimbabwe in 1983 was not recorded on television, because of a BBC strike that day.

more on this

Adapted from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Image: Wikimedia Commons