Kapil Dev appreciating himself is rare. He does not discuss his achievements. But his eyes sparkled at the sight of his wax statue, unveiled as part of the upcoming Madame Tussauds museum, here on Thursday. “I like it. Almost like me,” said Kapil.
The figure to be installed at the museum later this year shows his bowling action from sometime in the 1980s.
“He is an iconic sports personality in cricket and the figure captures the moment, a dynamic pose that encapsulates his bowling,” said Neil Linssen, a member of the museum’s research team. “We had a team that went into finalising the pose and we are happy that he liked it too. He comes across as a very humble person,” Linssen added.
For Anshul Jain, general manager of Merlin Entertainment India, the Delhi museum would be different from the other 22 around the world.
“It will focus on local themes with 60% of the museum featuring Indians,” he informed.
Weird experience
“It is an honour and feels nice,” said Kapil.
“I had to take off my clothes, didn’t have to strip totally, but it was weird. It’s a new thought. I learnt how the whole process works. I felt it was a little too much. Now I can see he has lost a little bit of weight (about the statue),” Kapil talked of his experience with the museum team.
When asked if there would be another like him, Kapil observed, “Impossible to have another Kapil Dev. But there will be better Kapils, 100s more. Ashwin is an all-rounder. Jadeja and Dhoni too are fabulous all-rounders. Anyone with more than one skill is a good all-rounder. I wish a fast bowler and batsman comes out but this Indian team has enough players.”
On the forthcoming Champions Trophy, Kapil was optimistic.
“We have the team to defend the title. Very strong on paper. The selectors have done a good job. Depends on how they maintain themselves in that couple of weeks and keep pressure on the opponents.”
Praise for Bumrah
“All the young Indian pacers have bowled well. I am delighted to see Bhuvi and Bumrah. When he (Bumrah) started bowling we were not sure if he would last this long with an awkward action. He has done very well.”
“England will be difficult to play in their conditions. Their team is very good.”
On the possibility of India playing Pakistan in a bilateral series in the future, Kapil reiterated his stand. “We should leave it to the Government.”
