1983 World Cup win changed landscape of Indian cricket, claims Kris Srikkanth
Kris Srikkanth, who was a part of India’s 1983 World Cup campaign, has stated that the win changed landscape of Indian cricket forever, with the shorter formats gaining attention. He also recalled that purists had given no chance to the Indian team in the tournament for their past performances.
For a country that had no special attraction towards one-day cricket, with the slow life generally garnering more faith to the Test cricket, India’s World Cup win in 1983 was a path-breaking one, for it created a buzz that catapulted the country's cricket forward. Riding on the surge of momentum, India won the 1985 World Series Cricket, hosted the 1987 World Cup while delivering a multi-crore TV deal that changed the landscape altogether. Kris Srikkanth, a part of that glorious squad, recalled the event by saying the landscape of the Indian cricket found a golden path after that afternoon at Lord’s.
"When India went for the 1983 World Cup, the previous two World Cups were a disaster for India, we hardly did anything in 1975 and 1979, with mighty West Indies who had won the title two times and the tournament being played in England, no one gave India a chance, any purist who followed the game thought that India stood a chance to move even a distance in the tournament.
“But the end result that came out was a revolution, this victory changed the shorter format cricket. It also turned the tide for us, it shaped all the budding cricketers in India when Kapil Dev collected the trophy at Lord's, it revolutionised cricket," Srikkanth told ANI.
"It was a monumental victory, it changed the landscape of Indian cricket. It changed the shorter format as India won Benson and Hedges Cup in 1985 after the World Cup," the former right-handed batsman added.
For India, Srikkanth was the top scorer in the final with 38 runs while no other batsmen managed to go past the 30-run mark. However, India’s tight bowling ensured that West Indies was bowled out for 140, as India won the match by 43 runs and created history on the podium.