Syed Kirmani. (Photo Source: ICC/ Twitter)
Former India wicketkeeper Syed Kirmani recalled a hilarious incident during the ODI World Cup in 1983. Notably, India won the 50-over tournament, their first International Cricket Council (ICC) title in that year under Kapil Dev’s captaincy.
Kirmani spoke about what happened during the World Cup match against Zimbabwe, which led to him walking to the middle to join Kapil Dev. Dev scored an unbeaten 175 and put on a 126-run partnership with Kirmani to post a match-winning total of 266. Notably, India then bundled out Zimbabwe for 235 runs, with Madan Lal taking three wickets.
While speaking to Star Sports, Kirmani said that he was never considered an all-rounder and had to bat at the bottom of the batting order. When India were reduced to 17/5 against Zimbabwe, the keeper-batter was getting ready for a shower and a nice breakfast. The 73-year-old went on to say that after a while, someone asked him to pad up, but he assumed they were joking, and he was left shocked after seeing the scorecard.
“I was never considered an all-rounder, so used to bat way down the batting order. So there were seven allrounders in front of me. Against Zimbabwe, Kapil Dev won the toss and decided to bat so I was all relaxed. I was getting ready for a shower and nice breakfast, had wrapped myself in a towel. And then all of a sudden, somebody yelled from outside ‘Pad up, Kiri!’. I thought they are pulling my leg so I ignored. But then they yelled again. This time I looked outside the window at the scoreboard and saw 17/5. Believe me, the towel I was wearing slipped,” Kirmani said.
The 73-year-old went on to say that he doesn’t remember how quickly he padded up and went to the crease. He added that the then-India skipper was undoubtedly unhappy with the team’s performance in a knockout game.
“I don’t remember whether I had breakfast and how quickly I padded up and went out to join Kapil Dev. I could understand he was disappointed at the performance in a knockout game. But I haven’t seen a more devastating innings by anyone in that situation,” he added.