How the spirit of 1983 came together in letter of support
Kapil’s Devils take a stand: The story behind the note backing the wrestlers in their agitation
On May 30, as India’s elite wrestlers Bajrang Punia, Sakshi Malik, and Vinesh Phogat broke down at Har Ki Paudi in Haridwar while contemplating immersing their international medals in the Ganga, the WhatsApp group of the 1983 World Cup-winning cricket stars came to life. There was shock and sadness, and many of them felt that they should find a way to support the wrestlers.
So when two of Indian cricket’s legends, Sunil Gavaskar and Kapil Dev, mooted the idea of issuing a joint statement, the rest of the group responded in the affirmative.
“The idea to draft a public statement came from Gavaskar and Kapil on our WhatsApp group which is our common forum to stay connected. The proposal had complete support from the rest of us,” Roger Binny, a member of the 1983 dream team and current Board of Control for Cricket in India told HT over the phone.
“Wrestlers have done so much for the country. They deserve better treatment. Both parties should come together and resolve the issue as soon as possible,” Binny added.
On Friday, ‘Kapil’s Devils’ expressed their distress on the way the protesting wrestlers were detained by the Delhi Police on Sunday. The cricket stars also urged the wrestlers to abstain from “hasty decisions”, described their medals as the “nation’s pride and joy” and hoped for a quick resolution to their grievance.
“We are distressed and disturbed at the unseemly visuals of our champion wrestlers being manhandled. We are also most concerned that they are thinking of dumping their hard-earned medals into river Ganga,” the statement read.
“Those medals have involved years of effort, sacrifice, determination, and grit and are not only their own but the nation’s pride and joy. We urge them not to take any hasty decision in this matter and also fervently hope that their grievances are heard and resolved quickly. Let the law of the land prevail.”
When contacted, Kirti Azad echoed Binny’s statement. “Everybody was stunned at what was unfolding on the television. We started texting in the group. The general tone was, ‘This is not fair. It shouldn’t be happening,’” recalled Azad, another
Athletes should not be treated in such a manner. There has to be a better way to deal with this. The wrestlers must fight; it is their right — Madan Lal
member of the World Cup-winning team who is also a Trinamool Congress politician.
“I have been making noise in my capacity as a politician, but it was important that we came out as sportspersons. The way our wrestlers were treated on May 28 (Sunday) left us shocked,” Azad added.
The wrestlers’ 36-day sit-in came to an end on Sunday when their march to the new Parliament — which was inaugurated the same day — was cut short. The wrestlers and their supporters were detained, and the police cleared the protest site.
On Tuesday afternoon, Punia, Phogat, and Malik issued a statement on Twitter announcing their decision to do away with their medals. It took a late intervention from Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) president Naresh Tikait, who rushed to Haridwar and deliberated with wrestlers for at least 30 minutes, for the latter to change their mind.
Former all-rounder Madan Lal, who turned the ‘83 final India’s way with the scalp of Vivian
Richards, said, “Some of the former cricketers in the group have contracts with various platforms as experts during the busy Indian Premier League (IPL) season. But, despite the packed schedule, such cricketers followed every development of the protest closely. It was very distressing to see the way wrestlers were treated by the police. There has to be a better way to deal with this.
The 72-year-old added: “It is heartbreaking that they decided to throw their medals. We aren’t in favour of them immersing their medals because medals don’t come easy. We urge the government to sort out this issue as soon as possible.”
The decision to issue the statement was finally taken on Tuesday, following which the statement was drafted. The former cricketers also have a threemember “core group” that has a WhatsApp group of its own. The statement was finalised by this group that comprises of Kapil, Gavaskar, and Azad.
“The statement was finetuned by the core group and sent. There were no second thoughts at any stage,” Azad said. Kapil was not available for comments. Gavaskar did not reply to queries seeking comment.
Over the past week, former India cricketers Anil Kumble and Robin Uthappa and Olympic gold medallists Abhinav Bindra and Neeraj Chopra have tweeted their support for the wrestlers.
“Last night was sleepless, haunted by the horrifying images of my fellow Indian wrestlers protesting. It’s high time we establish independent safeguarding measures across sporting organisations. We must ensure that if such situations arise, they are dealt with utmost sensitivity and respect. Every athlete deserves a safe and empowering environment,” Bindra, India’s first individual gold medallist at the Olympics, tweeted on Monday.
On Sunday, Chopra, a javelin gold medallist at Tokyo Games, shared a video of wrestlers Vinesh and Sangeeta involved in a scuffle with Delhi Police and tweeted, “I am sad to watch this. There has to be a better way to deal with this.”
Madan Lal said his message to the wrestlers is simple: Keep fighting.
“All I want to tell the wrestlers is, please keep fighting. It is your right to protest. I don’t know what is the truth, but if the wrestlers have gone so far, there must be an iota of truth in their allegations. All of us were really sad to see our sportspersons being treated this way. Sunday truly was the tipping point,” Lal said.
Following Tuesday’s high drama in Haridwar, the wrestlers have returned to their homes, leaving the decisionmaking to khap leaders for now.
Representatives from around 170 khaps met in Haryana’s Kurukshetra on Friday and gave the government seven days to drop all charges against wrestlers and arrest Singh. If their demands are not met, farm leaders and wrestlers will march to Jantar Mantar and resume their sit-in, it was announced.