Congress leader Jairam Ramesh slammed the organizers of the ICC World Cup final match for not inviting former Indian team captain Kapil Dev, credited with winning the 1983 World Cup, to the finale event in Ahmedabad, saying that it was “extremely petty”.
“It is simply unacceptable and extremely petty that Kapil Dev was not invited by the cricket establishment for the World Cup final in Ahmedabad. Like Bedi, Kapil Dev is known to speak his mind, and he did come out open in support of the agitating women wrestlers a few months back,” Jairam Ramesh posted on X.
Under Kapil Dev’s leadership, India secured its first Cricket World Cup victory against West Indies in 1983, a feat repeated only in 2011 when India played against Sri Lanka in the finals and won.
Dev told a news channel that he was “not invited” to the World Cup event.
“I wasn’t invited. They didn’t call me so I did not go. As simple as that. I wanted the whole ’83 team to be there with me but I guess due to the fact that it’s such a big event and people are so busy handling responsibilities, sometimes they forget,” Dev can be heard saying in a video, which is available on social media.
Among other former India captains who were present at the Narendra Modi Stadium was Sourav Ganguly, who was invited in the capacity of a former BCCI president. Inviting past presidents and officials is a BCCI norm.
Congress takes a dig at PM Modi
The senior Congress leader also took a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying he found time to attend the Cricket World Cup final match at Ahmedabad, but is yet to visit violence-hit Manipur.
In a post on X, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said the priorities of the prime minister are clear “PM found time to be at the stadium in Ahmedabad he got named after himself. From tomorrow, he’ll be back to abusing and defaming Congress in Rajasthan and Telangana. But still, he hasn’t found it fit and proper to visit Manipur that is still tense and suffering. His priorities are clear,” he wrote on X.
The Congress has been attacking the prime minister and the BJP over the situation in the northeastern state which has been seeing violence since May.
Along with Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah also attended the CWC 2023 final. Australian Deputy PM Richard Marles was also present.
India lost to Australia by four wickets in the keenly-watched CWC 2023 final, ending the host team’s undefeated run in the tournament. India had reached the final after winning 10 matches in a row.