On eve of 40th anniversary of 1983 world cup win, Kapil’s Devils go down memory lane

In the near 50-minute action replay in Ahmedabad by the world cup-winning team, barring Ravi Shastri who was away in the UK and Yashpal Sharma who passed away in 2021, were anecdotes — from ace wicketkeeper Syed Kirmani who “saw it from 22 yards” to Sunil Gavaskar who had “sat on a chair that brought him luck” but returned to the pavilion early that day.

At a session moderated by cricket presenter Gaurav Kapur, the team captivated the audience, including Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani and his family who were celebrating ‘Adani Day’ to mark the businessman’s 61st birthday.
One of the revelations was when Kirmani said how the scene in the 2021 Bollywood film ’83’ where Kapil Dev (played by Ranveer Singh) comes out of the shower to be told to “pad up” was actually his “real life” experience. “I am in the dressing room, a toast between my teeth and the towel around me, (when) somebody shouted from outside: ‘Hey Kiri, pad up!’ Normally, guys pull your leg. So, I ignored it,” he said.

However, in a span of three minutes someone called out to him again. “There’s something wrong (I thought). So, I held onto the towel…the toast still between my teeth and looked out of the window to see the scoreboard: seventeen (runs)! My eyes popped out… neeche dekha- paanch bolta hi, toast bhi gira, towel bhi gira… (below I saw five (wickets), and the toast fell as did the towel).”

As the gallery burst into laughter, Mohinder Amarnath, the Man of the Match of the 1983 final, piped in: “Kiribhai aapki nazar door darshi hogi kyon ki dressing room basement mein tha! (Kiribhai, you must be farsighted as the dressing room was in the basement!)”

Gavaskar termed Kapil Dev’s 175 runs “a feat” as those days “hitting a century was itself considered great”.<br /&gt;Next to take the stage was K Srikanth. “Main Madrasi hoon.. uss time pe kuchh bhi malum nahi. Mere ko Tamil, Hindi kuchh nahi malum, chaalis saal in log mere saath khelke khelke mera Hindi bach gaya, bada ho gaya abhi” (I am a Madrasi. Back then, I did not know Tamil, Hindi… Forty years these people played with me and saved my Hindi… now it has become better),” he said in accented Hindi.

The then team manager PR Man Singh recalled how the victory was so much not on the team’s mind that they had committed themselves to play a benefit match on June 26, 1983 for a former fellow cricketer Govindraj. “I told the team to be on the bus in the morning for this match. After the night of winning the world cup, look at their team spirit, they were all in the bus the next morning to play for a cricketer colleague, though I cannot say if any of them were in a state to play that day,” he fondly recalled.

Dilip Vengsarkar, who was hit on the jaw and had to be taken for treatment, mimicked a Kathiawadi in the local accent to describe how he was hit.

Drawing parallels from cricket, Adani said, “Every day is a new beginning, every ball is a new beginning and every second of glory comes at a price”. Without naming the Hindenburg report, he added, “Despite the short in January, the best birthday gift you have given me has been the results you have achieved in the past financial year”.

Adani Group collaborates with 1983 cricket team for World Cup campaign

Ahmedabad: Adani Group has collaborated with the team of 1983 Cricket World Cup to launch the “Jeentenge Hum” campaign in support of Team India ahead of the ICC ODI Cricket World Cup 2023 on Saturday.
The team members of the 1983 World Cup who gathered in Ahmedabad presented Gautam Adani with a special bat signed by the team, stated an official release.

“This campaign symbolises the excitement and the indomitable spirit that propelled us to victory in 1983. In preparation for the World Cup 2023, it is imperative for the team to foster a collective mindset that centres on wholeheartedly committing to giving their absolute best. The true measure of success lies not solely in the outcome, but in the unwavering dedication to the relentless pursuit of personal excellence,” Kapil Dev stated.

Echoing similar sentiments, Roger Binny, one of the heroes of the 1983 team and the President of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), said, “Being part of the 1983 World Cup-winning team was an incredible journey filled with determination and team spirit. Together, we believe in the potential of our current players to bring back the coveted trophy.”