What the heroes said at the grand felicitation

‘Kapil’s Devils’ relived the triumphant 1983 World Cup moments last night at New Delhi in a grand felicitation ceremony.

The following is what each squad member of that conquering squad said at the ceremony – In alphabetic order:-

Mohinder Amarnath: Kapil told us about the film Sholay before the final. "Jo dar gaya, samjho mar gaya," he said. We believed in him and won.

Kirti Azad: In the semi-final, I bowled Botham with a delivery that rolled on the pitch but turned. A stunned Kapil asked how I did it. I smiled and said it was a special delivery.

Roger Binny: The biggest thing in my career. I was on a comeback trail and conditions were ideal for me. I could swing the ball both ways and in English conditions it was easy for me.

Kapil Dev: To tell you frankly, nobody knows how it happened. Later we realised how wonderful a thing has happened.

Sunil Gavaskar: It was the greatest moment in our lives. We still cherish the moment. We thank the BCCI for bringing us back to the
limelight.

Syed Kirmani: The innings from Kapil against Zimbabwe turned campaign in our favour.

Madan Lal: Everyone praised Kapil for his fantastic effort to catch Vivian Richards in the final. Later I jokingly said that it was my delivery that got Richards out. The skipper also laughed.

Sandeep Patil: On the day of the final, Kapil spoke to us in Hindi for the first time in the team meeting. "Chalo Jawan Laro," he said. We did exactly what he said.

Balwinder Singh Sandhu: I was hit on my head during batting in the final. And I think all the grey matter inside my head was organised and then I bowled so well to get Gordon Greenidge out.

Yashpal Sharma: I played a good innings against England in the semi-final. After how Kapil played against Zimbabwe, I couldn't afford to fail with the bat again.

Ravi Shastri: What India cricket is today is because of the 1983 team. Corporate, media and the public came rushing after that great triumph.

P. R. Man Singh: My advantage was that I had toured as an assistant manager with the team to Pakistan before the World Cup. I told the players that don't consider me as a manager but see me as an elder brother.

K. Srikkanth: After our innings was over in the final, Kapil told us that we should not bother about our small total. "Let's not complain about that," Kapil said. He simply asked us to give our best and we gave that.

Sunil Valson: We wanted to do a lap of honour but couldn't because the ground was full of Indian spectators.

Dilip Vengsarkar: I have great memories of Lord's. The ground has given me a lot of things in life but nothing can match the World Cup win.