Richards praying that Kapil is clean

Master blaster Viv Richards is praying that the allegations against Kapil Dev are not true, he revealed in an interview with CricketTalk magazine. Hoping that "someone is trying to put wood in the fire because the fire is burning at this stage", Richards called Kapil "one of the last true great competitors" and someone whom he would tell youngsters to follow. Richards also brushed aside loose talk that the 1983 World Cup final against India had been thrown, saying "that would be doing terrible injustice to India who won fair and square." He paid tribute to Kapil for the astonishing catch that dismissed him just as he was looking irresistible.

"Kapil is a guy I have always admired. I have always thought he was that one person who carried the Indian flag to the cricket field, and he was one of the few Indians who showed it. He was always the great fighter, he had his chest out and he took immense pride in representing his country. And I in the opposition saw it and admired it", said Richards. Talking about the match-fixing charges against Kapil, Richards said it was only "the word of someone against that of someone else". But he admitted that if it had any truth, "it will take away everything I have always felt and still feel for Kapil."

Richards and Kapil have had several run-ins on the playing field in the past. In their prime they played two Test series against each other and arguably Richards came off second best in both. In 1982-83 in the Caribbean, Viv made 282 runs at 47.00 apiece while Kaps bagged 17 wickets at 24.94. In the return series in India the following season, Kapil did even better with 29 wickets at 18.51. On the other hand Richards suffered a rare form slump to end up with 306 runs at 34.00. But enough of these statistics.

Let's rewind to what Richards has to say about Kapil in his biography published in 1984. Remarks Richards, "...he (Kapil) has showed himself am excellent attacking bowler. He is an intelligent bowler and his best delivery is the one which he manages to make go away from the batsman at the very last second. It's a beautiful outswinger with which he's picked up quite a few wickets." Including his own it must be said. Five times in the twin series did Richards fall to the wiles of Kapil, thrice caught behind by Syed Kirmani. No surprise really then that he holds his former antagonist in such high regard.