India’s first World Cup-winning captain Kapil Dev was not invited to the 2023 cricket World Cup, the former cricketer confirmed on Sunday, November 19. “I was not invited, so I didn’t go,” he told news media when asked why he wasn’t at the India-Australia World Cup finals in Ahmedabad. The cricketing legend added: “I wanted to be there and it would have been even better if the entire 1983 team had been there, but there’s so much work going [with the World Cup], so many people involved and so many responsibilities, sometimes people forget.”
Kapil Dev was speaking on a panel for APB news when he made this revelation.
The former cricketer led India to victory in the 1983 World Cup finals against West Indies, a feat repeated only in 2011 when India played against Sri Lanka in the finals and won. With many hoping that Sunday’s finals would see India lift the World Cup for the third time, Kapil Dev’s absence has raised eyebrows. It is unclear if Mahendra Singh Dhoni who led India to the 2011 victory is attending the match either.
India is playing at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad against Australia.
Australia won the toss and elected to field. India saw three early fall of wickets with Shubhman Gill, Rohit Sharma, and Shreyas Iyer retiring by eleven overs. Virat Kohli left the field on the 28th over. India now hopes to defend a disappointing score of 240/10.