- By Sunny Daud
- Thu, 11 Jun 2026 04:20 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
Former India wicketkeeper-batter Syed Kirmani has said he was also in the running for captaincy before the 1983 World Cup, along with Dilip Vengsarkar, but the selectors eventually went with Kapil Dev to lead the team.
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The selection panel at the time was headed by Ghulam Ahmed and also included Bishan Singh Bedi, Pankaj Roy, Chandu Borde, and Chandu Sarwate.
"There was a question during the 1983 tour of the West Indies before the World Cup. At that time, there was a move before they appointed Kapil Dev as the captain. There was a move between me and Vengsarkar," Kirmani told PTI.
"This is the inside stuff which I heard. Should we make Vengsarkar the captain or Syed Kirmani? So, in this tussle, probably, they said, a wicket-keeper, why burden him?,” the former India wicketkeeper revealed.
India eventually went on to win their first-ever World Cup in 1983 under Kapil Dev’s captaincy. The team famously defeated the West Indies by 43 runs at Lord’s on June 25, 1983 — a victory that changed Indian cricket forever.
Why the 1983 World Cup should be remembered and celebrated more often?
Looking back, Kirmani said the achievement should be remembered and celebrated more often, and he feels the BCCI should officially honour the 1983 squad every year.
“It should be the BCCI who should come forward in recognising the '83 World Cup players to celebrate every year on 25th June, which laid a huge foundation for the Board as well as the cricketers who are now enjoying the benefits of what they got after the '83 World Cup.
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“This should be remembered. Everybody remembers, everybody will remember 1983. It is like, you know, having the first love in everybody's life. The first love can never be forgotten,” said Kirmani.
“So, on that count, I think we are celebrating the 25th of June. We are all assembling. It will probably be given publicity. If a sponsor had come forward, it would have been more publicity for that sponsor, right?
“But I feel that the BCCI should do the needful in celebrating what we did in 1983 on the 25th of June. This will be a great celebration.”
Syed Kirmani on the 1983 World Cup recognition as compared with MS Dhoni
The 76-year-old also pointed out how differently the 2007 T20 World Cup win under MS Dhoni was celebrated, saying the 1983 team did not receive similar recognition at the time.
“When Dhoni won after 28 years, a celebration which the BCCI did…none of the '83 World Cup players were invited. It's not a complaint, but it is a feeling of one and all. That we have forgotten. We laid the foundation for the current era of cricketers. We won and brought television.
“We brought money. Different concepts came in. Now, this 25th June, there is no sponsor. Each one of us are going on their own to meet one another and celebrate in Mumbai,” he said.