M S Dhoni? But Kapil Dev is greatest Indian cricket team captain ever.

M S Dhoni is calm and composed and Mr. Cool. An intelligent cricketer and leader.

But Kapil Dev by far is the greatest Indian cricket team captain.

All of 24 in 1983, he did the unthinkable by lifting the world cup for India. It was a fairytale of minions not worth their onions  who had only defeated East Atrica trouncing mighty teams and defeating two time champion West Indies in the finals.

Too hoots to strategy. Kapil Dev led by example. Led from the front and with an  undying passion. He almost single-handedly helped India defeat Zimbabwe with a 175 not out (his 175 runs were a career high).  Think of  that  improbable catch he took to dismiss Vivian Richards in the finals.

Kapil Dev was the first Indian fast bowler, and he could swing a cricket ball the way he wished. In a country where spinners were aplenty, he led the Indian bowling attack for two decades.

He was valour personified. The guts and gumption he had shown revolutionized Indian cricket and made the game a career options for thousands of kids who haven't heard of Shivaji Park or any of the public schools where the rich lads played cricket to match the status of the Brits.

That was Kapil Dev. And his place in the history of Indian sport and cricket is and will be unmatched. 

I can rattle off instances after instances of Kapil Dev taking the team to victory, singlehandedly. 

These nclude his “5 for 28”  against Australia to give India victory in the 1981 Melbourne Test; taking nine wickets against the West Indies in 1983; scoring 119 off of 138 balls to save India from a Test defeat against Australia in 1986; and slamming four consecutive sixes against England in 1990. He became only the second player in cricket history to claim 400 wickets, and in 1994 he broke Richard Hadlee’s record of 431 wickets. So on and so forth.

M S Dhoni is a product revolution that Kapil Dev brought about in Indian sports.