They remember most of the things, may forget a few just like senior citizens tend to but then comes June 25 and they are all back in that Lord’s balcony.
They are ‘Kapil’s Devils’, who brought a nation to astandstill on a Saturday night, which remained young forever.
Thirty six summers have gone by and KapilDev’s toothy grinwith the Prudential Cup remains the most defining moment in Indian cricket. Itrefuses to fade away. On TV, one gets to watch it every four years. On YouTube,one can indulge in repeat telecast in a loop.
If that balmy evening in Lord’s wouldn’t have been there,India can’t be sure if it would have had that ‘starry starry’ April night atWankhede 28 summers later.
A Sunil Gavaskar was needed for a Sachin Tendulkar, withouta KapilDev, there possibly wouldn’t have been a Mahendra Singh Dhoni andKrishnamachariSrikkanth possibly was a mini prototype of a player calledVirenderSehwag. A generation took to cricket and made it their passion becauseof that batch.
Not to forget, the buzz around the current lot which is alsolooking good for a Lord’s fairytale.
The industry called Indian cricket exists because of the ’83squad.
Kapil recently, in a web show, said he doesn’t remember alot of things that happened during the World Cup, quite possible for a60-year-old, who has had too many heady achievements in his illustrious career.
But certainly not for MadanLal, who says that it remains inhis muscle memory.
“How can I forget the biggest achievement of my cricketcareer? It’s in my muscle memory,” Lal, who got Vivian Richards’ wicket,told PTI.
“You remember so many things. Kapil’s knock atTunbridge Wells, beating West Indies in the first World Cup, Kirti’s (Azad)shooter to Ian Botham, getting better of Australia at Chelmsford and then thefinal,” recalled Lal.
On a recent show on an OTT platform VIU, Srikkanth recalledhow he had planned for an extended honeymoon in the US as they were pretty surethat India won’t qualify for the semi-finals.
“I was 23, newly married and my wife was only 18. Wehad got married two months back and were planning a honeymoon in the States. Wehad in fact booked Air India tickets worth Rs 10,000 from London to NewYork,” Srikkanth said.
The batch of 2011 got Rs two crore each for winning theWorld Cup from a rich BCCI but the batch of 1983 was not so lucky.
“LataMangeshkar did a concert for us at the NationalStadium and from the proceeds, we were given Rs one lakh each. Trust me, Ididn’t even have my own house, let alone have a car. I used to have a motorbikeat that time playing for India for nine years then,” he laughed.
But 1983 did give them that identity which they have beenable to cash in on.
“Yes, today I am an expert on a national channel and ithelps. But yes, our success meant a lot and then the next generation reapedrewards which makes me happy,” said Lal, who had also been a former chiefcoach and selector of the national side.
“Malcolm (Marshall) kesaathtohmeraek deal thaa. Wohaakehi mujheinek bouncer detathaa (I had a deal with Malcom Marshall. He would comeand bowl a lethal bouncer),” Yashpal Sharma couldn’t stop laughing as heregaled a handful of scribes at the Feroz Shah Kotla during a domestic game.
For Sunil Valson, it was an endless wait and he became aneternal eighth standard quiz question: “Who was the cricketer who didn’tplay a single game during the 1983 World Cup?” No marks for guessing whothat was.
“Kapil, Madan and Roger were bowling so well that Iknew it was difficult to get a chance. In fact one game against West Indies atthe Oval, I could have played but the manner in which Roger sprinted at thefitness test, I could only sit and watch. But no regrets,” Valson hadrecalled in a recent interaction.
Just like those family WhatsApp groups, the batch of 83, also has a group although they won’t say who the Group Admin is. Everyone sends each other messages and recall that glorious evening. It was their story and they might have grown old but the story remains timeless. It’s an epic and now a soon-to-be-released Bollywood movie too. PTI