Former Indian captain Kapil Dev said that his new bald look with a beard is inspired by West Indies great Viv Richards whom he described as his hero and 2011 World Cup-winning Indian captain MS Dhoni.
“I had seen Sir Vivian Richards on your Instagram. He is my hero so (I thought) why not? I’ll follow my hero. I also saw Dhoni who is also my hero and he had cut his hair after winning the World Cup. So I thought why not, now I have the chance so I did it,” Kapil said in a video tweeted by Chennai Super Kings.
Richards respond to the CSK tweet, saying: “Hahaha You took the right inspiration my friend @therealkapildev (sic.)”
Dhoni had famously cut off his long locks after winning the 2007 World T20 and even sported a semi-bald look after winning the 2011 World Cup.
Kapil’s bald look with a beard is also quite similar to what Richards has carried for the better part of his retired life. The two have faced off on the field a number of times, most prominently in the final of the 1983 World Cup in which Kapil’s rather unheralded Indian team stunned the mighty West Indies and won the trophy.
It was only the third time that the tournament was being held and the first time that a team apart from the West Indies had won it.