5 players from the 80s we would have loved to see in the IPL

Kapil Dev

Kapil Dev leading the pack of allrounders at Gujarat Lions – couldn’t get better than that

Of players who have played more than 200 ODIs, only three – Shahid Afridi, Virender Sehwag, and Adam Gilchrist – have a strike rate higher than Kapil Dev’s 95.07. His value to the side purely as a pace bowler cannot be undermined, for at a bowling average of 23.79, he was easily the best fast bowler India ever produced.

With the bat, he could take the game away from you in a matter of minutes – as Zimbabwe so unfortunately discovered during the 1983 World Cup where they were served a brutal 175 run onslaught by Kapil Dev. He had the ability to change gears when he wanted to, and had an arsenal of amazing outswingers in his bowling armoury to confirm him as one of the best all rounders of all time.

T20 would’ve loved his six hitting ability – Kapil once hit four sixes on the trot to help India avoid a follow on – but it would’ve lapped up his accurate yet deadly bowling a lot more.