Kapil Dev was born to Ram Lal Nikhanj and Raj Kumari Lajwanti (maiden name) on 6 January 1959. He was the sixth of seven siblings. Kapil's parents had emigrated from a village near Rawalpindi during Partition. Ram Lal Nikhanj settled in Chandigarh and settled into a prosperous building and timber business. Kapil Dev was a student at D.A.V. School and in 1971 joined Desh Prem Azad. He was introduced to Romi Bhatia by a common friend in 1979 and proposed to her in 1980. Kapil Dev married Romi in 1980 and the couple have a daughter Amiya Dev who was born in 1996.

Kapil Dev Ramlal Nikhanj (born 6 January 1959, Chandigarh), better known as Kapil Dev, is a former Indian cricketer regarded as one of the greatest all-rounders of all time. He was captain when India won the world cup in 1983. Kapil Dev was named by Wisden as the Indian Cricketer of the Century in 2002. Kapil Dev had a rather prosaic stint as India's national cricket coach for 10 months between October 1999 and August 2000.

Kapil was a right-arm pace bowler noted for his graceful action and potent outswinger, and was India's main strike bowler throughout most of his career. He also developed a fine inswinging yorker during the 1980s which he used very effectively against tail-enders. As a batsman he was a natural striker of the ball who could hook and drive effectively. A naturally aggressive player, he often helped India in difficult situations by taking the attack to the opposition. His nickname was The Haryana Hurricane — he used to represent the Haryana cricket team.

Kapil Dev was the greatest pace bowler India has produced, and their greatest fast-bowling allrounder. If he had played at any other time - not when Imran Khan, Ian Botham and Richard Hadlee were contemporaries - he would surely have been recognised as the best allrounder in the world. In any case he did enough to be voted India's Cricketer of the Century during 2002, ahead of Sunil Gavaskar and Sachin Tendulkar. His greatest feats were to lead India almost jauntily, and by his allround example, to the 1983 World Cup, and to take the world-record aggregate of Test wickets from Hadlee. It was the stamina of the marathon runner that took him finally to 431 wickets and only a yard beyond. He might not have been quite the bowling equal of Imran, Hadlee or Botham at his best, and his strike rate was less than four wickets per Test. But he was still outstanding in his accuracy and ability to swing the ball, usually away from right-handers. And he could hit a ball even more brilliantly than he bowled it, with uncomplicated flair. Kapil had a rather ordinary stint as India's coach for ten months between October 1999 and August 2000. Att the height of the match fixing allegation by Manoj Prabhakar -- a charge that was subsequently dismissed - Kapil resigned as coach. Hurt by the betting controversy, he announced that he was leaving the game. However, he returned from a significantly quiet period when Wisden named him as one of 16 finalists for the Indian Cricketer of the Century award. He won, and then returned to cricket as a bowling consultant and served as chairman of National Cricket Academy for two years. In May 2007, Kapil joined the breakaway Indian Cricket League, which led to his removal from the NCA.