Over the years there have been stories of superstition by the players or the ones watching it as they believe somehow they are responsible for the win. India’s World Cup winning skipper Kapil Dev is no far behind, he too believed in superstitions and a lot of them, especially when he was a youngster. Even Sachin Tendulkar was superstitious and ate in the same restaurant and order the same dish during World Cup as he believed his form will remain the same. Indian spinners Harbhajan Singh and Ravichandran Ashwin too have had their share of superstition as well.
“There is a lot of superstition. Even when you are watching a match at home and if India is playing well, they (family) do not allow you to leave. I think everyone has their own beliefs. That is why this game is so popular,” Kapil said about his playing days.
“When I was a youngster, I too had my own set of beliefs. I would always wear the left pad first and put the right foot first on the ground. These were little things… do the right things in life,” Kapil said on the What The Duck show.
“I would wear a slim chain with a Lord Shiva pendant because a sportsman is always a little scared. You (want to) keep God close to your heart. I played a shot and my chain touched the bat and it made a sound. The chain was quite long and it came out. There was an appeal (for caught behind). Luckily, the umpire gave not out. I was relaxed. But in the evening, I removed the chain and kada (bracelet). And I thought about my life’s self-beliefs,”
“My inner voice said that maybe these chains will not score runs for me. If God is there, then he’s there. If you look at a top swimmer at Olympics level, they shave all their body hair so that they can swim even faster. And here (in cricket), we wear so many things and make ourselves heavy. Today, when I observe a few players, adjusting their chains after every ball, I feel their mind… second thought is here,”
“So, to avoid it, I got rid of my chain and the bracelet. If I had the ability, then I will score runs. A chain or any other thing is not going to score runs for me. I wanted to know if I can make runs without them. Somehow, I freed myself from all these things. When I see some players today, I laugh. They still don’t have the self-belief in them. They don’t have self-realisation,” said Kapil.
