Kapil Dev Ramlal Nikhanj^[1] ( pronunciation (help·info)) (born 6 January 1959, Chandigarh), better known as Kapil Dev, is a former Indian cricketer. He captained the Indian cricket team in the 1983 Cricket World Cup, which India won. Kapil Dev was named by Wisden as the Indian Cricketer of the Century in 2002.^[2]. Kapil Dev was also India's national cricket coach for 10 months between October 1999 and August 2000.

Kapil was a right-arm pace bowler noted for his graceful action and potent outswinger, and was India's main strike bowler through most of his career. He also developed a fine inswinging yorker during the 1980s which he used very effectively against tail-enders. As a batsman he was a natural striker of the ball who could hook and drive effectively. A naturally aggressive player, he often helped India in difficult situations by taking the attack to the opposition. He was nicknamed The Haryana Hurricane^[3] — he represented the Haryana cricket team in domestic cricket. He retired in 1994, holding the world record for the most number of wickets taken in test cricket, a record subsequently broken by Courtney Walsh in 2000. At the time, he was also India's highest wicket taker in both major forms of cricket, Tests and ODIs). He is the only player in the history of cricket to have taken more than 400 wickets and scored more than 5,000 runs in test cricket, making him one of the greatest all-rounders to have played the game. On 8 March 2010, Kapil Dev was inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame ^[4]

Full name Kapil Dev Ramlal Nikhanj Born 6 January 1959 (1959-01-06) (age 51)
Chandigarh, India Batting style Right-handed Bowling style Right arm fast medium Role All-rounder

International information National side India Test debut (cap 141) 16 October 1978 v Pakistan Last Test 19 March 1994 v New Zealand ODI debut (cap 25) 1 October 1978 v Pakistan Last ODI 17 October 1994 v West Indies Domestic team information Years Team 1975 – 1992 Haryana 1984 – 1985 Worcestershire 1981 – 1983 Northamptonshire Career statistics Competition Test ODI FC LA Matches 131 225 275 309 Runs scored 5248 3783 11356 5461 Batting average 31.05 23.79 32.91 24.59 100s/50s 8/27 1/14 18/56 2/23 Top score 163 175* 193 175* Balls bowled 27740 11202 48853 14947 Wickets 434 253 835 335 Bowling average 29.64 27.45 27.09 27.34 5 wickets in innings 23 1 39 2 10 wickets in match 2 n/a 3 n/a Best bowling 9/83 5/43 9/83 5/43 Catches/stumpings 64/– 71/– 192/– 99/– Source: Cricinfo, 24 January 2008