It is a pleasure reliving '83 triumph

It is like those good old days when we played cricket and then met again at the end of the day to relive those moments. The past few days have been some of the most memorable of my life as the 1983 World Cup triumph brings us together again, thanks to the wonderful gesture of the BCCI and the original architect of this celebration — Sunil Gavaskar.

Twenty-five years can be a long time and much has happened since we won that Cup at Lord's. Few gave us a chance and we emerged champions. It is all well-known and well-documented. I feel privileged to be a part of that grand team, a team that played for each other, a team that made history and set benchmarks for the subsequent generation.

That World Cup victory meant a lot for Indian cricket. It taught us self-belief; it highlighted the hidden strengths and talent of a few cricketers. We were dismissed as nothings in one-day cricket and emerged the champions ahead of the mighty West Indians, who I thought were near-invincible under Clive Lloyd.

The affection and honour that we received from the nation is a treasure we would cherish all our lives. The respect that the current generation of cricketers gives us makes us proud of our achievements. But I would like to put things in perspective by giving credit to the heroes of 1971 under Ajit Wadekar when they beat the West Indies and England. The 1983 World Cup triumph was the greatest moment in Indian cricket but the motivating factors were the 1971 Test wins in the West Indies and England.

Wadekar and his team gave us the direction. For today's cricketers, 1983 may be the benchmark. It was a momentous tournament no doubt and it is indeed so nice of the nation to remember it and once again relive it 25 years after that great day at Lord's. I have fond and vivid memories of that World Cup. I would love to relive that fascinating period, enjoy again the pranks of Kiri (Syed Kirmani) and Chika (K. Srikkanth), watch Kapil Dev play the greatest innings that a batsman can imagine and feel privileged to play along a great performer like Jimmy (Mohinder Amarnath).