For Kapil Dev, cricket offered the stage that defined his name among the sport’s all-time greats. After he stepped away from playing in 1994, another pursuit soon became a close companion: golf. He has not only taken to the game as an accomplished amateur, but in 2024 he also took on the role of President of the Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI). Still, there is one lingering question he has never fully brushed aside—why he didn’t start playing golf while he was an active cricketer.
In a write-up, Kapil looked back at how golf has long been part of the routine for several renowned figures in cricket. He pointed to examples of players such as Gary Sobers and Don Bradman, both of whom he said played golf even during their playing careers. In Kapil’s view, that sort of culture simply never took root in India.
“I started playing golf after I stopped playing cricket. But even in earlier times, some cricketers would pick up golf. Gary Sobers used to play it constantly. Don Bradman also played golf, and there’s even a picture of him on the course. In India, people didn’t really take it up—I’m not sure why. They preferred staying in the room,” he wrote.
Kapil then went further, arguing that taking up golf during his cricket years could have had a direct impact on his batting and overall returns. The 1983 World Cup-winning captain suggested that the benefits of the sport might have translated into additional runs at the international level.
“Golf can definitely help a cricketer. If I had played it while I was still playing cricket, I’m confident I would have scored at least another 2,000 runs. It sharpens focus, improves coordination, and helps with timing. I don’t have the words to describe the pleasure golf has given me,” he added.
Kapil wrapped up his international career with 9,031 runs from 131 Tests and 225 ODIs between 1978 and 1994. With the ball, he also finished with 687 wickets, reinforcing his reputation as one of the most influential pace-bowling all-rounders the game has produced.
He also outlined a hypothetical scenario based on his own belief that golf could have helped him add more runs. If he had indeed tacked on another 2,000, his total would have climbed to 11,031—moving him from 16th to 12th on the all-time international run-scorers list. In that imagined ladder, he would have overtaken names such as KL Rahul (9,678), Gautam Gambhir (10,324), Dilip Vengsarkar (10,376), and Shikhar Dhawan (10,867). That revised figure would also have brought him close to former Pakistan all-rounder Shahid Afridi, whose career total stands at 11,196.
There was an even bigger milestone at stake in Kapil’s calculation. Those extra runs would have placed him at the top of a rare double achievement—crossing 11,000 international runs and taking 600-plus international wickets. At present, that benchmark is held only by Shakib Al Hasan, who has 14,730 runs and 712 wickets.
Kapil played his last international match in Faridabad against the West Indies in October 1994. Later, he returned to Indian cricket as head coach in 1999, though his stint lasted only 10 months due to the upheaval caused by match-fixing allegations. In the years that followed, he worked as a bowling consultant and also chaired the National Cricket Academy for two years before being removed after becoming involved with the Indian Cricket League in 2007.
