Amid a row over 1983 World Cup-winning captain Kapil Dev not being invited to the final at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena faction leader Sanjay Raut called it "wrong" and attacked the BJP over dynastic politics. Weighing in on the issue, Raut said the whole team, fondly called Kapil's Devils, should also have been invited for the summit clash that saw Australia clinch its sixth World Cup title by defeating India.
"If the Indian Cricket Board truly had a love for cricket, then they should have called Kapil Dev and the World Cup-winning team of that time. But they were not called. This is wrong," ANI quoted Raut as saying.
Hitting out at the BJP over "dynasties" within the party across fields like politics and cricket, Raut said, "Whole BJP is standing on the dynasty. From politics to cricket, there is a dynasty everywhere. Be it the Scindia family or the Shinde family, the Vikhe Patil family in Maharashtra, or the family of Anurag Thakur, how many names should I tell? Anurag Thakur's brother is the chairman of the IPL."
The row erupted after Kapil Dev said on Sunday that he was not invited to the World Cup final match at Ahmedabad, with Congress linking it to the former captain's support for the women wrestlers who were protesting over alleged sexual harassment by ex-WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh.
"It is simply unacceptable and extremely petty that Kapil Dev was not invited by the cricket establishment for the World Cup final in Ahmedabad," Congress general secretary (communication) Jairam Ramesh wrote on X. "Like Bedi, Kapil Dev is known to speak his mind, and he did come out openly in support of the agitating women wrestlers a few months back," the Congress leader further said.