Kapil Dev was probably the most magical player India has ever produced (even ahead of Tendulkar and Gavaskar), partly because it was always so unlikely that a country like India would produce a fast-bowling allrounder (as Gideon Haigh captures so eloquently in this piece ). In some ways though he is also the worst thing that could have happened to modern Indian cricket, kicking off as it did an eternal pace-bowling all-rounder hunt since he retired about twenty years ago. Often (especially when India are doing badly), it feels like the solution to all problems would be to find a new Kapil Dev. The list of players who have shown a bit of promise and been branded the new Kapil Dev is probably only a bit shorter than a similar list drawn up by English fans (and selectors) of the next Botham. First there were the 1983 World Cup men in Madan Lal and Roger Binny who despite their stellar efforts in that tournament and ample opportunities in Test cricket (39 and 27 caps respectively) never ...