Cricketer Kapil Dev stable after angioplasty

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NEW DELHI (Reuters) – Cricket great Kapil Dev, who captained India to their 1983 World Cup triumph, is stable after undergoing an emergency coronary angioplasty having suffered chest pain, according to a hospital statement on Friday.

The 61-year-old former India captain was admitted after midnight to the hospital Delhi and underwent the procedure in the early hours.

“Currently, he is admitted in ICU and under close supervision …” the hospital said. “Mr Kapil Dev is stable now and he is expected to get discharged in couple of days.”

Dev later tweeted that he was recovering.

“Thank you everyone for all the love and concern,” Dev wrote. “I am overwhelmed with the good wishes and well on the road to recovery.”

Nicknamed the “Haryana Hurricane”, Dev played 131 tests and 225 one-dayers before retiring in 1994 as arguably India‘s best all-rounder.

A crafty medium-pacer and a free-scoring batsman, he led India to the 1983 World Cup title in a memorable triumph of the underdogs, beating a formidable West Indies team in the Lord’s final.

“Praying for your speedy recovery. Get well soon,” India captain Virat Kohli tweeted. Indian batting great Sachin Tendulkar also wished Dev well.

India‘s cricket board, the BCCI, said: “The nation is well aware of his grit and spirit and we are very sure he will be out of the hospital soon.”

(Reporting by Amlan Chakraborty in New Delhi, additional reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru; editing by Toby Davis and Kevin Liffey)