“For me, Kapil will always be…”: When Sunil Gavaskar called Kapil Dev the real ‘game-changer’ of Indian cricket

Sunil Gavaskar and Kapil Dev are two of the greatest players in Indian cricket history. Both of them were part of the 1983 World Cup-winning squad as well. Gavaskar could not perform well in that tournament, but Dev had an excellent tournament where he established himself as one of the best in the game.

Dev and Gavaskar shared mutual respect, but they were always in news for some kind of rift between them. Dev once accused Gavaskar of dropping him from the Playing XI of the Delhi Test vs England, and Gavaskar clearly denied that allegation. Gavaskar always called Dev one of the greatest players in the Indian team.

Once Dev even revealed how Gavaskar’s harsh words motivated him to do well in International cricket. Gavaskar also narrated a story where he revealed the only incident where he yelled at the Indian all-rounder.

Sunil Gavaskar called Kapil Dev the real ‘game-changer’ of Indian cricket

Sunil Gavaskar and Sachin Tendulkar were once present at the book launch of Indian journalist Rajdeep Sardesai. In the event, Gavaskar was asked about the game-changer in Indian cricket history between Kapil Dev and MS Dhoni. Gavaskar had no hesitation in mentioning the name of Dev.

Gavaskar insisted that Dev was the first cricketer to come from a small town and make such a big influence on the game. He highlighted Dev’s ability to make an impact on the game with both the bat and the ball. Gavaskar praised Dhoni as well, but he kept Dev above him.

“For me, Kapil will always be (the game changer),” Sunil Gavaskar had said at the book launch of Rajdeep Sardesai’s book Democracy’s XI.

“He was the first one from a small town to make an impact, changed matches with bat and ball, won matches with both bat and ball.”

Both Gavaskar and Tendulkar were asked about the batter they will pick to bat for their life, and they mentioned each other’s names only.