File photo of Sunil Gavaskar© Twitter
MS Dhoni is widely regarded as ‘Captain Cool’ for his calm and composed demeanour on the field even in the toughest of conditions. Over the years, his captaincy style has been praised by experts and fans alike with the nickname becoming almost synonymous with the former Indian cricket team skipper. However, legendary India opener Sunil Gavaskar believes that there is another contender for that nickname. In a recent interaction with Times of India, Gavaskar said that Kapil Dev is the original ‘Captain Cool’ and reminisced about his all-round performance in the 1983 World Cup.
“Kapil’s performances with both bat and ball were dazzling to say the least. Not to forget his catch of Viv Richards in the final. His captaincy was dynamic, exactly what the format required, and his ready smile even when a player dropped a catch or mis-fielded makes him the original captain cool.”
India started the 1983 World Cup as underdogs but they went on to claim the title after defeating the defending champions West Indies in the final. Kapil Dev performed brilliantly with both bat and ball and his catch to dismiss Viv Richards has gone down in the pages of history.
Gavaskar also joked that the moment India won the 1983 World Cup could have made for a great advertisement for a toothpaste as all the players and staff were constantly smiling.
“It’s hard to put in words what those moments after the win felt like. It would have made a great advert for toothpaste as everybody around us were laughing and smiling and to see that was simply heart-lifting,” he added.
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