June 25 should be declared ‘Kuch Bhi Ho Sakta Hai’ Day.
It was — and continues to be — cricket’s biggest Black Swan event.
That one day’s proceedings triggered a structural shift that started the ‘Asianisation’ of cricket. Before 1983, I had never heard of ‘counter-colonial’ in cricketing discussions. After 1983, the first two people to hint of sub-continental pride were Gavaskar and Imran and I believe that a much-suppressed dream began to be first articulated when Kapil sprayed champagne from the Lord’s balcony 40 years ago.
India’s victory over the West Indies was more than just about an unfancied team winning cricket’s most prestigious tournament; it was cricket’s inflection point that extended from the field to the game’s ecosystem, livelihoods, destinies, attitudes, calendar and power balance that continues to this day.
West Indies batsman Viv Richards leaves the field after being dismissed for 33 runs, caught by Kapil Dev (not pictured) off the bowling of Madan Lal
If India had not won, every World Cup may have been played in England — as if by right over reason.
If India had not won, the game’s centre of gravity — traditionally, intellectually and financially — may have been the boardrooms of London and Sydney.
If India had not won, then it is possible that Pakistan may not have won in 1992, Sri Lanka would have not won in 1996 (the game’s second biggest Black Swan event), and Bangladesh / Afghanistan may not have got Test status.
If India had not won, there may have been no room for the supposedly ‘mediocre middles’ — the guy who could bat a bit, seam a bit and dive a bit — and yet strut with the swagger of a gum-chewing West Indian with the nickname of Smoking Joe.
If India had not won, we would still have been submitting applications for an MCC membership at the age of 18 in the hope of getting one by 43 and carrying that on our chest with greater pride than a Padma Shri.
The India World Cup Winning squad pictured ahead of the 1983 Cricket World Cup group Match between India and West Indies at the Oval on June 15, 1983
If India had not won, there would have been no mention in history of a Sunil Valson, Kirti Azad or a Madan Lal, often described as ‘atmosphere people’ — who made up the numbers but, in doing so, played their roles.
If India had not won, we may have grown up to believe that our destiny lay in being polite losers writing essays on If.
If India had not won, we would have grown our children into believing that our greatest national achievements lay in helping dismember our neighbours or exploding bombs in deserts.
If India had not won, the dreams of the world’s second-most populous country would have been about that 221 that fell short or the Milkha who finished fourth.
If India had not won, the posters on our walls would have been of cricketers with white skin, blue eyes and blonde hair.
If India had not won, there may not have been a Gavaskar, who said: “No, thank you” when the MCC offered him a membership or there may not have been a Jagmohan Dalmiya who walked away with the highest bid for the 1996 World Cup with the words: “I don’t know how the English ruled India for 200 years.”
India all rounder Kapil Dev (left) chats with man of the match Mohinder Amarnath, holding the trophy on the balcony after the 1983 Cricket World Cup final
If India had not won, there would have been fewer stories to tell our grandchildren about a pre-SKY square drive for four that should have been called a wide or how an Indian made it possible to take a catch with the ball coming from behind his back or how a jokey medium pacer swung it wider than Imran to clean bowl an opener caught with his bat higher than his eyebrow.
If India had not won, there would have been little less wonder in an otherwise numerical world where virtually everything can be explained; there would have been less proof of that unseeded outsider who occasionally makes an appearance to rob bookies of their earnings and often referred to as the Anti-Cathedral of Standard Operating Protocol.
If India had not won, there may have been no World Championship victory in 1985, no T20 World Cup victory in 2007 and no World Cup victory in 2011.
If India had not won, Germany-like professionalism would have always prevailed over jugaad, teamwork and that word that decisively used in the crime thriller Sacred Games — ‘daring’.
If India had not won, we would have been a nation living in the sepia frames of Ajitpal Singh lifting the 1975 World Cup Hockey, Dhyan Chand dribbling in 1936 and deluding ourselves that Chak De India was a true story.
Celebrating spectators flood the square as West Indies batsmen Michael Holding (l) and Joel Garner leave the field after the 1983 Cricket World Cup final Match between India and West Indies
If India had not won, Sehwag may have pursued an MTech and worked on the night shift in a sanitaryware factory in Bahadurgarh, Sourav Ganguly would be running the family press in Kankurgachhi using the five-letter word ‘forma’ every 13 minutes and M.S. Dhoni would be going compartment to compartment on Bombay Mail via Nagpur with a sheet asking passengers, “Ticket please.”
Someday I want to go down to London to seek out Patel’s Bookies who offered 5-1 odds on West Indies winning the final and placing India as favourites at their impromptu betting joint on St. John’s Wood Road on the morning of June 25, 1983.
