1983 World Cup winner Yashpal Sharma dies aged 66

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He was the second-highest run-getter for India at the tournament

Yashpal Sharma, a member of India’s 1983 World Cup-winning side, has died in New Delhi after a cardiac arrest. Sharma was 66.

A middle-order batter, he played 37 Tests and 42 ODIs for India between 1978 and 1985. He was the second-highest run-getter in India’s historic 1983 triumph, scoring two half-centuries: an 89 in India’s win over West Indies in the group stage, and 61 in the semi-final against England.

In his first-class career that spanned nearly two decades, Sharma scored 8933 runs, with 21 centuries and 46 half-centuries.

Post-retirement, he remained actively involved in coaching, commentary and cricket administration. He served as a national selector across two stints, first from 2004 to 2005, and later from 2008 to 2011. He was part of the committee that picked India’s 2011 World Cup-winning squad. He also officiated in a number of domestic matches, both as an umpire and match referee. Most recently, he was part of Delhi’s Cricket Advisory Committee.

The news was met with shock by his former team-mates, some of whom he had met last month on the anniversary of the 1983 World Cup win.

“It is unbelievable,” Dilip Vengsarkar told PTI. “He was the fittest among all of us. I had asked him that day, when we met, about his routine. He was a vegetarian, teetotaller, used to have soup for his dinner and very particular about his morning walks. I am just shocked.”

“As a player, he was a proper team man and a fighter,” Vengsarkar added. “I fondly remember the 1979 Test against Pakistan in Delhi. We had a partnership that helped us save the game. I knew him since my university days. Still can’t believe it.”

Kirti Azad, another member of that 1983 team, had also met him last month. “He told me that day we met that I had lost weight. We had a great reunion. I remember the very first game in the 1983 World Cup playing the mighty West Indies with those fast bowlers, he set the agenda and we won that game,” Azad told PTI.

“He was again fantastic in the semi-final, hitting Bob Willis for a six. Nowadays people say [Ravindra] Jadeja hits the stumps regularly but so did Yashpal. He was a livewire on the field and would hit stumps all the time,” Azad said.

Another member of the 1983 World Cup squad, Balwinder Sandhu, told PTI that Sharma should have got more recognition than he did for the way he played the game. “The ’83 team is like a family, one of our family members is no more, it is so shocking,” Sandhu said. “The media may not have given him that kind of credit that he should have been given. But he gave 100% all the time, played to win the game, and even while fielding – he was brilliant in the field.”

In a BCCI release, Sourav Ganguly, the Indian board’s president, said: “I am deeply saddened by the demise of Yashpal Sharma. We have lost one of our cricketing heroes. He was a valuable middle-order batsman, a sharp fielder and an affable person off the field. His contribution to Indian cricket shall always be remembered. I extend my condolences to his family in this hour of grief.”

Sharma was born in Ludhiana and represented Punjab, Haryana and Railways in the domestic circuit. He first came into national contention in 1977, when he made a match-winning 173 for North Zone in the Duleep Trophy final, against a South Zone attack comprising BS Chandrasekhar, S Abid Ali and Erapalli Prasanna.

He was subsequently picked for the Pakistan tour but had to wait for nearly two years for his Test debut, at Lord’s against England. Sharma scored two Test centuries, his first an unbeaten 100 against Australia in Delhi. In the following Test, Sharma made 85 not out off 117 balls in Kolkata to steer India’s race towards the 247-run target before bad light halted play. Sharma’s second Test century (140) came during the course of a 316-run stand with Gundappa Viswanath, who made 222, against England in Chennai.

Sharma is survived by his wife, two daughters and a son.

Shashank Kishore is a senior sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo

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