Did Kapil Dev Miss Out On 2000 More International Runs? 'Even Past Cricketers Played Golf'

Former Indian cricketer Kapil Dev has said that the likes of Gary Sobers played golf all the time, but in contrast, Indian cricketers would just spend time in their rooms while not playing cricket, adding that if he had played golf during his time, he would have scored 2000 more runs due to a better bat swing.

Kapil Dev has not only excelled as an amateur golfer but has also been serving as the President of the Professional Golf Tour of India since 2024. Yet, one regret lingers: why he never took up the sport during his playing days.

In his column for The Indian Express, Kapil Dev recalled how some of cricket’s greats, including Sobers and Don Bradman, took up golf even during their playing days, something he noted was never part of the culture

in India.

“I played golf after I stopped playing cricket. But even cricketers in the past would play golf. Gary Sobers used to play all the time. Don Bradman used to play golf. There is a photograph of Bradman playing golf,” Kapil Dev wrote.

“Indians never used to play, I don’t know why. They liked to sit in the room. Golf can 100% help a cricketer. Had I played golf when playing cricket, I would have scored another 2,000 runs minimum,” Kapil added.

The former Indian cricketer ended his international career with 9,031 runs across 131 Tests and 225 ODIs between 1978 and 1994. Kapil Dev claimed 687 wickets as well, establishing himself as one of the greatest pace-bowling all-rounders in cricket history.

By his own admission, had Kapil Dev added another 2,000 runs, his career tally would have climbed to 11,031, lifting him from 16th to 12th on the all-time international run-scorers list.

That would have seen Kapil Dev go past cricketers like KL Rahul (9,678), Gautam Gambhir (10,324), Dilip Vengsarkar (10,376) and Shikhar Dhawan (10,867), while closing in on Shahid Afridi’s mark of 11,196.