During our cover interview with 83 director, Kabir Khan, we learnt that he was never a big fan of cricket. So, when he said how Kapil Dev and the rest of the 1983 World Cup-winning Indian team were just a âbunch of boysâ, my first thought was to tweet to him demanding an explanation (yes, thatâs how my sports-loving brain works sometimes). 

But then, I actually listened to what the guy had to say and did some research on my own, and it began to make more and more sense. 

Talking about why he decided to do a film on Indiaâs 1983 victory, Kabir said âHonestly Iâm not a big cricket fan. It surprises people, but Iâm not. I realised that Iâm the best person to make 83 because I will never get swayed by the cricket. No sports films are watched for the sport, itâs more about the human story. I was just blown away by the material of that story,â he confessed.

On the squad and how he went on to develop a unique bond with them in the process of making the film, he added: âIt is such a classic underdog story. It is such a beautiful story of a bunch of boys⦠Most of them were in their twenties and nobody gave them any hope in hell.â

Before the squad flew for England to partake in the Prudential World Cup, they had a horrible losing record. They had lost 28 of the 40 ODIs back then and five captains came and went away in a hurry before Dev was positioned at the helm.

© Twitter - Cricket World Cup

Krishnamachari Srikkanth, who was a vital part of the team back then even confessed of playing in the tournament without any expectations. âWhen we left the shores of India in 1983 we never expected to be world champions. In fact, my flight was from Bombay to New York with just a stopover in London for the ICC Menâs Cricket World Cup,â Srikkanth had told the ICC media. âThat was because in the first two World Cups the only team we had beaten was East Africa, we even lost to Sri Lanka who were not yet a Test team.â 

A few days before the World Cup began, Devâs âboysâ even lost to a glued-up team of farmers, engineers and salesmen, which was assembled on short notice and were named Minor Counties Select XI, captained by Frank Collyer. The day after the humiliating loss, umpire Terry Wilkins even said: âYou could walk into any betting shop and place a bet on India to win the world cup at 500-1. I never had a penny on it.â 

Nobody expected them to win. 

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Kabir revisits the time he took to research for the film and said: âWhen they [Team India] landed in London, they were humiliated, they were disrespected.â 

The roster which mostly consisted of vegetarians found roasted chicken and shepherdâs pie in lunch during their practice match against New Zealand.

âHow they pulled each other up and went on to win this glory for India, thatâs why I wanted to direct this film,â Kabir said. 

As a fan of the game and a sucker for underdog stories, I expect Kabir Khanâs upcoming Ranveer Singh-starrer biopic 83 to show how they fought with their backs against the wall, how they went on to beat the seemingly undefeatable West Indies team in the final, and how a âbunch of boysâ became men of glory. 

Based on his exceptional job with Roar of The Lion, a Hotstar docu-series he has directed around the cricketing like of Mahendra Singh Dhoni, I am certainly looking forward to the upcoming film.

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