21/04/2025
Kapil Dev: Jisne Bharat Ko Jeetna Sikha Diya
Kuch log khelte hain, kuch jeette hain — aur phir kuch aise hote hain jo tareekh likh jaate hain. Kapil Dev unhi mein se ek naam hai. Aaj ka har cricket fan unka shukrguzar hai, lekin kam log jaante hain ke unka safar kis qadar mushkil, lekin himmat bhara tha.
Haryana ke ek chhote se sheher se aane wala ye ladka, jiske paas na fancy academy thi, na koi bada naam — lekin tha to sirf ek khwab: "Bharat ke liye khelna hai."
Jab 1978 mein unhone apna pehla match khela, to kisi ne nahi socha tha ke ek din yeh ladka World Cup trophy ko Bharat ke haathon mein thaam ke uthayega. 1983 ka woh World Cup... jab poori duniya Bharat ko underdog samajh rahi thi, tab Kapil Dev ne sirf ball aur bat nahi uthaya, balke ek poore mulk ki umeed uthai.
17 runs par 5 wickets gir chuke the. Har taraf khamoshi thi. Par ek insaan tha jo haar maanne ko tayar nahi tha. Kapil Dev ne 175 runs ki innings khel kar sirf match nahi jeeta, balki ye dikhaya ke asli champion wo hota hai jo musibat mein bhi muskuraaye, aur ladta rahe jab tak jeet na mil jaaye.
Unki leadership mein team ne World Cup jeeta, lekin asal jeet to unhone Bharat ke har chhote sheher ke us bache ko dilayi jo kehta tha, “Main bhi ek din kaptaan banunga.” Kapil Dev ne cricket ko sirf khela nahi, usay jazba, lagan aur himmat ka naam bana diya.
Aaj bhi, jab naye kheladi ground mein utarte hain — unka ek khwab hota hai: Kapil Dev jaisa banna hai.
