There is no doubt that Kapil Dev will go down in history arguably as India's greatest cricketer of all time. A top all-rounder with almost 700 international wickets and more than 9000 runs, a World Cup winning captain, named as Wisden Indian Cricketer of the Century, famous coach and a broadcaster, Kapil has done it all in his career in and outside the ground. However, the one and only aspect of his cricketing career which many believe Kapil couldn't quite nail was time his retirement.
Kapil ended his legendary 16-year-long career in 1994, but the last one year, his bowling lacked the sharpness, the teeth that once made one of the best quicks in the world. Kapil broke the then-record for the most Test wickets held by Richard Hadlee in a Test match in Ahmedabad before calling it a day.
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However, it wasn't easy for Kapil to have taken a decision. Kapil's former India teammate and current member of the BCCI Apex Council, Anshuman Gaekwad revealed that it was him who convinced the champion all-rounder to take the call since he was no longer as effective as he used to be. In 1994, Gaekwad was the national selector, and once Kapil had dismissed ex-Sri Lanka batter Hassan Tillakaratne, he knew that it was time to have 'the talk'.
"You can't drop such a big player. We allowed him [Kapil] to play the Test series against Sri Lanka, and he broke the world record in the Ahmedabad Test. We thought he would announce his retirement after breaking the record. However, that evening, at the press conference, he said that he'll play for two more years. Next day, a seemingly hassled Vishy (Gundappa Vishwanath) told me, 'See the headlines. Kapil is saying that he will play for two more years,'" Gaekwad was quoted as saying by Mid-Day.
{{/usCountry}}"You can't drop such a big player. We allowed him [Kapil] to play the Test series against Sri Lanka, and he broke the world record in the Ahmedabad Test. We thought he would announce his retirement after breaking the record. However, that evening, at the press conference, he said that he'll play for two more years. Next day, a seemingly hassled Vishy (Gundappa Vishwanath) told me, 'See the headlines. Kapil is saying that he will play for two more years,'" Gaekwad was quoted as saying by Mid-Day.
{{/usCountry}}Kapil's decision caught everyone off-guard, including the then-BCCI secretary Jagmohan Dalmiya and the chairman of selectors Gundappa Vishwanath. The three of them faced a tricky scenario as Kapil reached the end of his career, and with the BCCI looking at the future of Indian cricket, Gaekwad decide to confront Kapil himself.
"That same evening, there was a national selection committee meeting. [Jagmohan] Dalmiya was the BCCI secretary. So, we sat and decided that it was time for Kapil to quit. I suggested to Dalmiya that as a selection committee chairman and senior, Vishy [Viswanath] should talk to him. However, Vishy insisted that I accompany him. "At tea time, we approached Kapil in the dressing room. Vishy wasn't a forthright guy, who would tell you that you were doing something wrong on your face," added Gaekwad, who also served as India's head coach.
"He would go round and round while talking to someone. So, I took the initiative. I told Kapil: 'Kaps, we need to talk to you. The selectors feel that you need to quit now, and you also know it. We will give you a farewell game as per your choice, but you've got to call it a day.' Kapil reacted very nicely and said: 'Thank you very much. I really appreciate what you told me'. One has to do these kind of things at times, which I did."
Post his retirement, Kapil remained low-key for a few years before succeeding Gaekwad as the head coach of the Indian team in 1999.