Kapil Dev is currently serving as president of the DP World Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI). | Photo Credit: SHASHI SHEKHAR KASHYAP

Some victories fade with time. Others grow larger than the moment itself. More than four decades on, India’s triumph at the 1983 World Cup belongs firmly in the latter category.

For an entire generation, it was the day Indian cricket discovered what was possible. For those who followed, it became the moment that changed everything. At the centre of that transformation stood Kapil Dev, the man who altered the trajectory of Indian cricket forever.

That version of him has become part of India’s sporting consciousness, preserved in memory and immortalised in countless highlight reels. The man himself, however, has long since moved on.

Retirement opened the door to a different passion. Golf, a sport he discovered after cricket, gradually became a defining part of his life. What began as a post-retirement curiosity evolved into a passion and, eventually, a mission. Today, as president of the DP World Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI), Kapil finds himself championing a sport he only discovered after hanging up his cricket boots, investing in its future with the same enthusiasm that once powered India’s charge on cricket fields around the world.

The setting for this conversation could scarcely be further removed from the frenzy that once surrounded him.

Tucked away well outside the bustle of New Delhi is Kapil’s farmhouse, where there are barely any indications that it is the residence of one of India’s most celebrated athletes. There are no ostentatious reminders of sporting greatness, no shrine to a glittering career. Instead, the property exudes a different kind of richness.

Vegetable patches stretch across the grounds. Open spaces invite silence rather than spectacle. More than 40 rescue dogs, cared for by his wife, roam the expansive compound.

It is here, amid the stillness, that Sportstar sat down with the 67-year-old to discuss what he calls, somewhat surprisingly, the finest phase of his life.

Excerpts:

Talk to us about your interest in golf. How did that happen?

This has been a beautiful journey. Basically, when I stopped playing cricket, I wondered what to do next. Either you go back to television and start talking about cricket or you do coaching, most probably. But I wanted to stay away from people because you’re with people for almost 15-20 years. You now want to just chill and relax.

A friend of mine introduced me to golf and I loved it. Why? Only one reason. I’m not depending on somebody. I played a sport where I depended on others, but this gave me a thrill.

I’m not saying cricket didn’t give me that. It gave me more than anything I could ever imagine in several lifetimes. But this gave me a special kick.

How did it go from a hobby to serving as the president of PGTI today?

When you meet the golfers, you come to know how much hard work they put in and the rewards they get are not commensurate with that effort, even though they work even harder than cricketers. I felt we could help them have a better life through the sport.

Why shouldn’t they get a chance to become better athletes and also earn a livelihood? That’s what changed my thought process and I told myself that I should do something for golf.

Had I not started playing the game, I wouldn’t have done anything, to be honest.

And in India, not just in golf but in any sport, the moment people start following it, the benchmark is cricket, where India is a dominant force. So when somebody like Aditi Ashok plays in the Olympics, or Jeev Milkha Singh and Shubhankar Sharma compete in international events, the expectations inherently become unfair, with people expecting medals and titles.

It’s not right to compare. Cricket has its own place, as do golf, football and every other sport. Yes, everybody talks about cricket in India, and that’s because the administration has done well to take it to that level. At this stage, golf needs infrastructure in India, which is the most important thing for any sport.

Look at cricket today. We’re talking about being the best in the world because our infrastructure is better than that of any other country. Hats off to the cricket board. They’re giving young players all the facilities they require.

Take any field, even beyond sport. Our country has produced so many software engineers because we’ve given them the right platform. That’s why today we’re talking about Indians being among the best in that field.

And how is PGTI working on extending those opportunities beyond the bigger cities?

We don’t have many golf courses in smaller cities. They’re only beginning to come up now. Over the last 10 years, we have organised tournaments in several smaller cities, like Raipur.

If you give people a chance, maybe golf will also have someone like (MS) Dhoni emerge from Jharkhand or elsewhere. We need to provide those opportunities to players, and for that we require many more golf courses. If we have that, we will produce a world champion.

As administrators, it is our job to provide those opportunities, not only for boys but for girls as well. Take Aditi. She has done impressively on the global stage and now people understand that Indians are very close to winning medals that nobody thought we could.

Is there a push from PGTI to ensure that this kind of interest is fostered at the school level?

That’s very tough. Yes, it would be nice, but every school can’t have a driving range, even the bare minimum required for kids to start hitting the ball. Schools in smaller cities can do it much more easily than those in big cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bengaluru and Chennai because land is not as freely available.

But we want to walk slowly before we run. We want to make sure that every year we bring the sport to different parts of the country, not only expanding its footprint but also increasing interest.

Is live telecast, on TV or online, something you are focusing on?

We cannot compare any sport with cricket. They’ve been doing it for the last 50 years.

Besides cricket, no sport is really televised that much in India. Yes, we’re working very hard with our commentators to help people appreciate golf as the beautiful game that it is.

When a big event, like the Olympics, comes around, fans are focused on the sports where they think a medal is a possibility. This makes golf an afterthought. How do you, who has been one of the greatest athletes the country has produced, think we can get over this mindset?

Yes, you would like to see your country win medals, but people should admire sports for what they are. We should admire and support our own athletes.

In our country, people still do not readily choose sport as a profession. They’re not making a life out of it. In cricket, yes, they are. Today, people come to me and say they want to play in the IPL. I feel very sorry. I want them to say they want to play for India. But I can understand that because they see the IPL as a way to build a career.

But my aim is always higher. You should aspire to make a name for your country.

On that note, PGTI has done well to increase the prize money pool every year. How easy or difficult has that been? And what is your aim going forward?

It was not hard. I just spoke to my friends and tried to convince them. Lots and lots of friends of mine have come forward to help promote the game. I can only say we shouldn’t expect the government alone to do everything for us, in any sport.

We can take help from the corporate world. They have the money to invest in sport, not only golf but anything. It is our responsibility to tap into that avenue and make the game bigger. We’re ready to accept CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) funding as well.

If there is no money, people will walk away from the sport. Young kids will pursue it only up to a point. Once people can make a living through sport, the game will change in our country, just as cricket has.

The league system is one obvious way to take a sport forward in India, and golf has two of them. Despite being rivals, you welcomed it wholeheartedly.

The IPL has changed the way many sports think. We should have a league where players can build a career. And 72 The League is one way for us to support our players. You can’t look after all 400-500 players, but if you can support the top 50-100, the benefits will eventually trickle down. This league gives players opportunities to showcase their talent and experience playing as part of a team. Golf is a very individual sport, but we wanted to give them a taste of teamwork as well.

And as for having two leagues, we’d be happy to have four or five, as long as each has its own purpose. We’re happy as long as they look after the players. I would welcome anybody who wants to invest in golf.

According to you, what has been the biggest change you have seen in golf during your time with PGTI?

I think youngsters have developed greater self-belief. Not just in golf, but across all sports. In our time, cricketers were slightly subdued. Today, you see young athletes come out and speak their mind. We never used to do that.

That’s a good thing, but they also have to know where to draw the line in what they say. We have to learn the balance.

Do you think your stature in the country has also helped golf, in a way?

I can’t say that about myself. I do have a passion for golf. And if people take up the sport because of that, I will feel very happy. But it’s not for me to say how much my stature has helped golf.

You recently met the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi to discuss making it the golf capital of the country. Can you shed some light on that?

We have around 14-15 golf courses here. I don’t know of any other city that has more.

In winter, if you want to play golf, you won’t get a chance at all of them in Delhi because the game is growing. But we have to make it a more professional sport. At the moment, people want to play for fun. But when a top player emerges from the sport, things will be different.

That is what we spoke about. We want to promote the game.

Do you have a favourite golf course, either in India or abroad?

More than the location, I think the company is what matters. If you’re playing cricket and get a chance to play with Virat Kohli, Sachin Tendulkar, Jasprit Bumrah or Sunil Gavaskar, that’s enjoyable and memorable.

It is the same for me. It’s not the golf courses but the people you play with that are very, very important. Because I’m not a professional, I like meeting successful people, trying to understand them and enjoying those conversations.

I remember once going to Australia for a company I was working with. The chairman played golf with me on a Sunday. On Monday, I had a meeting with him. I went to his office for a 10 o’clock meeting, but he was busy with other things. He simply signed my papers, saying he could judge someone by playing with them on the golf course.

Who are the golfers Kapil Dev looks up to?

I admired Tiger Woods, without any doubt. He increased the popularity of the game more than any other sportsperson in the world, much like Michael Jordan and John McEnroe did for their sports. These kinds of people change a sport’s outlook. I think that’s very, very important.

I would say Tiger Woods has done more for golf than anyone else. I’m not taking credit away from others, but I think he was the one person who had the biggest impact, like Jordan or Pelé.

What have been the most challenging things for you in the ecosystem since you came in?

I do not see anything as a challenge. I work, and I enjoy my work. Every day is a challenge, but you have to enjoy what you do.

You’re not going to score a hundred every day. But whether you walk onto the field or into the office, only one thought should remain: Can I do something more for the community I am looking after?

Is it fair to say that, today, Kapil Dev enjoys golf as much as, if not more than, he did when he was playing cricket?

Oh, I enjoy it even more than that. More than cricket, I used to enjoy playing marbles, flying kites and everything else. Yes, cricket gave me recognition, but over the last 20-25 years, golf has given me so much as well. It’s very difficult to even express what it has meant to me.

Published on Jun 16, 2026