Arre, iss ke liye toh paise nahi miley mujhe!” He added, “I am just joking. I am here to entertain the students too. When I was young, I was too busy with cricket. I never got the opportunity to study at a university and today, when I see these happy young faces, I realize that I missed out on college life. I want to tell young students that they must make the best use of this opportunity because there are so many young boys and girls in the country who don’t get to pursue higher education. The world is going through a tough phase and the onus is on the next generation to look after our planet. In cricket, while playing for the country is important, how long you play for India is more important. Similarly, while getting a degree is important, how you utilize whatever you have learnt is more important. This generation is certainly smarter than the previous ones and while seniors like me can guide, they should choose their own path.”
‘That WC innings of 175 not out is recorded in my head’
Talking about his innings of 175 not out against Zimbabwe from the 1983 World Cup (there is no video footage available from that day as the broadcasters were on strike), he said, “
Bahot log shayad ye sun sun ke pak gaye honge,
ki wo innings
ke videos nahi hai. However, it’s all recorded in my head and while I feel sorry for the people that they couldn’t watch that match, I prefer to look at the positives. We talk so much about that innings because there is no recording. Otherwise, I don’t think people would ask me about that innings even now.” He added, “A lot of people have told me that they believe that to be my greatest innings, but I don’t agree. Considering the circumstances (India was on the brink of an embarrassing defeat and exit from the World Cup), it was a very important innings. But as a cricketer, there are times when even a score of 40 on a challenging pitch gives you more satisfaction than scoring a century. For instance, I scored a half century against New Zealand in Australia and that gave me immense satisfaction because it came during a very difficult situation. But overall, the 1983 World Cup win was the greatest thing to happen to Indian cricket. I have no words to express my feelings about the kind of love and affection that people continue to shower on me even today. During my playing days, I hadn’t expected such adulation even in my wildest dreams.
Kabhi kabhi toh lagta hai,
ki main iss ke kaabil bhi hoon ya nahin.” The team player in him came to the fore when someone referred to the film
83 as his biopic. “Ranveer (Singh) played me onscreen, but
wo film
mere upar nahi hai. It was about the Indian team that brought home the World Cup,” he interrupted.
‘Sometimes, youngsters take up something just to impress others’
Looking back at his own career, Kapil emphasized on the importance of being passionate about one’s dreams. He shared, “I don’t believe in speaking much and I have always been a man of action. I believe that if you are passionate enough, you can achieve anything. While practising as a youngster, I would play for hours and
mujhe din aur raat ka pata nahi chalta tha. I would wonder why I couldn’t carry on playing at night. When you love something, you forget about the time and everything else. Sometimes, youngsters take up something to impress others. I believe that it is important to love yourself first and bring passion to whatever you like. There are no substitutes for passion, hard work and commitment. Sachin Tendulkar is the perfect example of talent plus hard work. If you are talented but not hard-working enough, then you can go the Vinod Kambli way.
Agar manzil khoobsurat hai, toh raaste ki chinta kyu karni hai?”
‘Mother Teresa and Nelson Mandela were my heroes while growing up’
Talking about his role models while growing up, he said, “Hero-worshipping is good, and you should keep looking for the next hero in your life-people who are doing better than you and doing something worthwhile. Mother Teresa was my hero and after that, it was Nelson Mandela. Even after spending 27 years in jail, Mandela forgave everyone and that needs great courage and guts.”
‘I have no favourite formats in cricket’
On being asked about his favourite format, Kapil said, “I love cricket and the format doesn’t matter. The spectators are most important, and it is their love which makes or breaks a sport. Tomorrow, if there is a two-over format, I will love that too!”
Kapil’s Picks:
Most complete batsman: Sunil Gavaskar.
Laziest teammate: Sandeep Patil.But he was very talented.
Funniest teammate: Krishnamachari Srikkanth.
One bowler he would love to face: Jasprit Bumrah.
One batsman he would love to bowl to: K L Rahul.