Kapil Dev’s 66th Birthday: On Monday, January 6, the legendary Indian cricketer Kapil Dev celebrates his 66th birthday.

The Punjabi Hindu family of teak trader Ram Lal Nikhanj and his wife Rajkumari welcomed Kapil into the world in 1959 in Chandigarh.

Kapil is considered to be among the greatest all-round players India has ever produced, and his skill with the bat and the ball was exceptional. He was particularly well-known for striking the ball at the proper length and swinging it both ways.

In addition to playing for Northamptonshire and Worcestershire in the English county, he represented Haryana in Indian domestic cricket.

When Kapil led India to their first ODI World Cup triumph in 1983 with a thrilling victory against the formidable West Indies in the final at the legendary Lord’s, it was the high point of his incredible career.

Dev’s effort in the crucial encounter against Zimbabwe, when he batted first and rallied the Indian side from a 17/5 position, still stands as one of the greatest ODI innings ever. He hammered 175 runs. He hit six sixes and sixteen boundaries.

In 1999, he took over as coach of the Indian squad, but he quit after only ten months because of a string of subpar performances.

After making his debut for India in October 1978, Kapil went on to play in 225 One-Day Internationals and 131 Test matches. In the game’s longest format, he scored 5248 runs and claimed 434 wickets.

He finished his career with 3783 runs and 253 wickets in ODIs.

In addition to his nine hundreds in all forms, Kapil Dev amassed twenty four-fors, twenty-four fifers, and two 10-wicket hauls.

From the 1982–1983 season till 1984, he served as India’s first captain.

After India lost the ODI and Test series against England at home, Gavaskar was fired, and Dev took over as captain once again in 1985.

India defeated bitter rivals Pakistan in the final to win the Benson & Hedges World Championship of Cricket under Dev’s captaincy.

Despite serving as vice-captain for India’s 1989 visit to Pakistan, he did not lead the country again after the 1987 World Cup.

As the captain of India, Kapil Dev won two Asia Cups (in 1988 and 1991) in addition to the 1983 ODI World Cup.