Many wrote us off but never Kapil: Roger Binny

Captain Kapil Dev always believed we could create magic in England, Roger Binny told DH

For me, the 1983 World Cup was a comeback tournament – a make-or-break event. I was dropped from the tour of the West Indies in February-March that year and my career was sort of at a crossroads. When you get dropped ahead of a major event, it’s hard to make a comeback. But then I had a very good domestic season and played a strong role in Karnataka winning the Ranji Trophy that season (1982-83). I had also played some cricket in England prior to the World Cup and had put in decent performances. So although I was dropped for the West Indies series, I was confident that based on my domestic performances, I would make it to the World Cup.

Once I made the squad, my only focus was to do well and not get dropped again. Conditions in England suited my style of bowling and since I’d played some cricket there, I believed I could do well. Having said that, I just wanted to make it to the playing XI, cement my position and perform to the best of my abilities because that’s all you think about when you’re making a comeback. In the end, looking back, I think I achieved the goal because I ended up bagging the most number of wickets (18)! In fact, I wasn’t even aware of it until someone told me the day after we had won the World Cup, which for many of us is the biggest achievement in our lives. It was something that changed the landscape of Indian cricket.

Also Read | Dravid’s moment of reckoning

When we entered the tournament, nobody gave us a chance, and fair enough. We’d lost our warm-up games and didn’t look like a champion team, like the West Indies so to say. We didn’t look like a team that had a goal in mind. But captain Kapil Dev never felt like that about us and he always believed we could create magic in England. The belief started to flow when we beat defending champions West Indies in our opening game. But very quickly it all came crashing down when we lost to Australia and West Indies, our third and fourth games respectively. And when we were reduced to 17/5 against Zimbabwe, everyone thought we were done. But again, Kapil had other ideas. I feel that game and the final when we were bowled out for 183 were the two moments when most gave up on us. But never Kapil.

In the game against Zimbabwe, I walked into bat when we were 17/5 and all Kapil told me was “listen, we have more than 50 overs to bat, so let’s just hang in there, focus on singles and protect our wickets. Let’s push the innings as far as we can.” I listened to him for a while before getting out with a rash shot. But then Madan Lal and Syed Kirmani hung around as Kapil played one of the most astonishing innings ever seen. Sunil Gavaskar, who has seen several centuries as a player and commentator, still rates it as the best century by an Indian in a World Cup. Even to me, it’s the best knock I’ve ever seen. That knock changed our morale and brought the belief and spirit that we lacked. It was the fire that really lit us up.

There are simply not enough words to praise Kapil’s captaincy. Even when we were bowled out for 183 in the final against the mighty West Indies, all that he told us was, “listen we have beaten the West Indies before and we can do it again; if we believe we can. Let’s go give it our all instead of sulking.” We then just went and gave it our all and the rest is history which even after 40 years still resonates deeply with every Indian.

I still remember the day when we arrived in India after the triumph. From the international airport in Mumbai (then Bombay) to the Wankhede Stadium where a function was arranged, people had lined up on the streets in thousands. It was a 30km stretch but people were there everywhere. They were throwing flowers and money at us. We were never used to such adulation and it was all too surreal for us. Seeing that ecstasy in their faces, we realised what we had accomplished. Indian cricket has grown leaps and bounds and is such a dominant force now. But back then, we were a small entity. That triumph changed the face of Indian cricket. Several kids who watched it, got inspired and took up cricket. The sport ended up forming a deep bond with Indians. I’m so thrilled to have been part of such defining moment in Indian cricket.

(As told to DH's Sidney Kiran by 1983 World Cup winner and current BCCI president Roger Binny)