Kapil Dev: The cricket legend who's turned to golf
Ben Simister for
Updated 0920 GMT (1720 HKT) March 6, 2018
This month's Living Golf sees Shane O'Donoghue travel to India. March's episode premieres on CNNi March 8.
(CNN)Few countries around the world embrace a sport like India embraces cricket.
Like many other sports, golf has struggled to emerge from under cricket's shadow -- although there are many similarities between the two sports.
The British Raj introduced both during its rule over India from 1858 to 1947. There's the cadence to compare, the time between shots being hit; and also the hand-eye coordination between bat, or club, and ball.
Few know more about the parallels between both sports than cricketing legend Kapil Dev, who is the only player in history to have taken more than 400 wickets and scored over 5,000 test runs.
Now, 59-years-old and a single figure handicap golfer, Dev has represented India in a number of senior amateur golf tournaments.
During a recent round with CNN Living Golf's Shane O'Donoghue at Delhi Golf Club, Kapil compared his two sporting passions.
''When you play cricket you're always depending on somebody. In golf it's up to you," he told CNN.
"You can feel proud about the shot you play, you play a bad shot you really can't criticize anybody.
''I feel happy to have represented two sports for my country. When I was 12 I didn't realize the importance of playing cricket for India. Then I picked up golf at the age of 37 and then you represent your country again it feels great.''
In 1983, Kapil captained India to an historic World Cup victory over the West Indies, taking the popularity of cricket in his country to an even higher level.
Dev knows that golf faces an uphill task to ever compete with India's most beloved sport.
''It's very difficult because golf needs land, almost a minimum of 150 acres of land to play,'' he explains.
''With cricket you can play in the backyard, you can play in the streets, you can play anywhere. But I have noticed a difference.
"Now if you want to play on Saturday or Sunday at Delhi Golf Club you have to book a week in advance. That's the change in the game of golf. If more youngsters start playing golf in India the game could be huge.''
Dev has also noticed how more young Indians now view sport as a possible profession compared to when he was growing up.
Photos: Tiger Woods returns to golf
Big picture: Woods had back fusion surgery in April 2017, his fourth procedure since 2014, but appears fit and healthy. He says his expectations are lower than of old but he is gearing up for the year's first major, the Masters in April.
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Photos: Tiger Woods returns to golf
Dark times: Woods, now 42, admits he has had some "dark times" with his ongoing back problem over the last few years, unable to walk freely or even get out of bed. But Torrey Pines is a course he knows well -- he's won eight times on the San Diego track.
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Photos: Tiger Woods returns to golf
Pretty in pink: Woods made a promising comeback from 10 months out in December but Rickie Fowler received the trophy for winning the Hero World Challenge, which benefits Woods' charity.
Hide Caption
8 of 11
Photos: Tiger Woods returns to golf
Pain free: Able to swing freely and aggressively and appearing to experience no discomfort as he bent down, Woods' comeback at the Hero World Challenge showed promising signs.
Hide Caption
9 of 11
Photos: Tiger Woods returns to golf
Back in the ring: Woods returned at the same event in 2016 after another 15 months out but broke down again in Dubai just over a month later.
Hide Caption
10 of 11
Photos: Tiger Woods returns to golf
Comeback trail: Woods was given the go-ahead by doctors to resume his golf career after a fourth back surgery in April and returned at the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas in December.
Hide Caption
11 of 11
Photos: Tiger Woods returns to golf
Team USA: A month on from his long-awaited return to the PGA Tour, Tiger Woods was chosen as one of Jim Furyk's vice-captains for the 2018 Ryder Cup. Whether he'll play isn't yet clear...
Hide Caption
1 of 11
Photos: Tiger Woods returns to golf
Short-lived: At February's Genesis Open, staged at the Riviera Country Club, Woods missed the cut. The 42-year-old finished up six-over-par, with compatriot Bubba Watson (-12) eventually lifting the trophy.
Hide Caption
2 of 11
Photos: Tiger Woods returns to golf
The latest return: Tiger Woods might not have troubled the top of the leaderboard at the Farmers Insurance Open in January, finishing seven shots off eventual winner Jason Day, but he did show glimpses of his old self.
Hide Caption
3 of 11
Photos: Tiger Woods returns to golf
Silver linings: The American took solace in the fact that he can still "grind it out with the best of them" after he finished up tied for 23rd position -- his best full-field finish at a PGA Tour event in more than two years.
Hide Caption
4 of 11
Photos: Tiger Woods returns to golf
All smiles: Tiger Woods was relaxed as he chatted to the media ahead of his first start of 2018 at Torrey Pines. It was the former world No.1's first full-field event on the PGA Tour since missing the cut at the same venue last January.
Hide Caption
5 of 11
Photos: Tiger Woods returns to golf
Big picture: Woods had back fusion surgery in April 2017, his fourth procedure since 2014, but appears fit and healthy. He says his expectations are lower than of old but he is gearing up for the year's first major, the Masters in April.
Hide Caption
6 of 11
Photos: Tiger Woods returns to golf
Dark times: Woods, now 42, admits he has had some "dark times" with his ongoing back problem over the last few years, unable to walk freely or even get out of bed. But Torrey Pines is a course he knows well -- he's won eight times on the San Diego track.
Hide Caption
7 of 11
Photos: Tiger Woods returns to golf
Pretty in pink: Woods made a promising comeback from 10 months out in December but Rickie Fowler received the trophy for winning the Hero World Challenge, which benefits Woods' charity.
Hide Caption
8 of 11
Photos: Tiger Woods returns to golf
Pain free: Able to swing freely and aggressively and appearing to experience no discomfort as he bent down, Woods' comeback at the Hero World Challenge showed promising signs.
Hide Caption
9 of 11
Photos: Tiger Woods returns to golf
Back in the ring: Woods returned at the same event in 2016 after another 15 months out but broke down again in Dubai just over a month later.
Hide Caption
10 of 11
Photos: Tiger Woods returns to golf
Comeback trail: Woods was given the go-ahead by doctors to resume his golf career after a fourth back surgery in April and returned at the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas in December.
Hide Caption
11 of 11
Photos: Tiger Woods returns to golf
Team USA: A month on from his long-awaited return to the PGA Tour, Tiger Woods was chosen as one of Jim Furyk's vice-captains for the 2018 Ryder Cup. Whether he'll play isn't yet clear...
Hide Caption
1 of 11
Photos: Tiger Woods returns to golf
Short-lived: At February's Genesis Open, staged at the Riviera Country Club, Woods missed the cut. The 42-year-old finished up six-over-par, with compatriot Bubba Watson (-12) eventually lifting the trophy.
Hide Caption
2 of 11
Photos: Tiger Woods returns to golf
The latest return: Tiger Woods might not have troubled the top of the leaderboard at the Farmers Insurance Open in January, finishing seven shots off eventual winner Jason Day, but he did show glimpses of his old self.
Hide Caption
3 of 11
Photos: Tiger Woods returns to golf
Silver linings: The American took solace in the fact that he can still "grind it out with the best of them" after he finished up tied for 23rd position -- his best full-field finish at a PGA Tour event in more than two years.
Hide Caption
4 of 11
Photos: Tiger Woods returns to golf
All smiles: Tiger Woods was relaxed as he chatted to the media ahead of his first start of 2018 at Torrey Pines. It was the former world No.1's first full-field event on the PGA Tour since missing the cut at the same venue last January.
Hide Caption
5 of 11
Photos: Tiger Woods returns to golf
Big picture: Woods had back fusion surgery in April 2017, his fourth procedure since 2014, but appears fit and healthy. He says his expectations are lower than of old but he is gearing up for the year's first major, the Masters in April.
Hide Caption
6 of 11
''When I was a kid I don't think any parents would encourage their children to go out and play," he said.
"They said to go and study, there was no time for sports'' he says. ''But today parents say if you're not good in school go and become something, play sports, play any sports.
"The exposure of sport is so good and the money is so good that the parents think, if their children can make a life through sports, then why not? This change has only happened in the last 15 years.''
With Kapil inspiring the next generation both as a cricketing legend and as a senior golfer, expect both sports to continue to flourish in India.
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source:https://edition.cnn.com/2018/03/05/golf/kapil-dev-cricket-india-delhi-golf-club/
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