Friday marked the 38th anniversary of the 1983 World cup triumph. At that time Indian team was considered an underdog but they went on to beat the West Indies squad in the final of the cup.
Azad admitted that he jokingly told his teammate Mohinder Amarnath that it’s a free one-month holiday. Kirti Azad told a media organization, “When I got to know that I have been selected, Jimmy was in Lancaster and I was in Lancashire. I called him and jokingly said I am coming there, let's go together to the hotel and enjoy the free holiday we have got for a month.”
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Azad further said that Kapil Dev carried the champagne bottle, which was opened on the balcony during the Lord’s victory, throughout the tournament. Azad said, “When our tour started I saw a small champagne bottle in his (Kapil Dev’s) bag. I told him, give it to us. What are you going to do with it? You don’t drink. But he kept it till the end. And if you see, that was the first bottle that opened on the balcony of Lord's. We tried to take it from him but he didn't give it. He believed from the beginning that we could win it".
Kirti Azad also recalled the inspirational speech by Kapil Dev in the dressing room. Azad recalled, “Kapil's speech was inspirational. He told us in the dressing room before the very first match of the World Cup that if we could beat West Indies in West Indies before, why can't we beat them again.”
Kriti Azad added that the win in the 1983 World Cup Tournament was a catalyst in India becoming a superpower in cricket and thanked Kapil Dev, who believed in his team. Azad said, "1983 made India a cricket superpower. We had the next World Cup coming to India, commercialization of cricket happened after that in many ways. That was the stepping stone. We feel we were pioneers to help India become a superpower, thanks to Kapil Dev".
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