Indian cricket team's former star player and 1983 World Cup winner Yashpal Sharma has died of heart attack on Tuesday. The 66-year-old gifted middle-order batsman made his debut for India in 1979 against England.
Yashpal scored 1606 runs in 37 Tests with nine fifties and two remarkable centuries for national team in a memorable cricketing career that spanned over the late 70's and 80's. He also played 42 ODIs and scored 883 runs for team India. For a few years, Yashpal also served as a national selector.
Yashpal Sharma played his first international match on August 2, 1979 at Lord's. He made a big impact in 1972 after scoring 260 runs for Punjab Schools against Jammu and Kashmir Schools.
Within two years of this, he secured a place in the state team. He was part of Team India for the 1979 World Cup, but he did not get a chance to play a single match.
In the 1983 World Cup, he played an important role in making India the world champion, scoring 89 runs against West Indies in the first match and was adjudged man of the match forhis heroics. Yashpal Sharma was born on 11 August 1954 in Ludhiana, Punjab. The star batsman has passed away at the age of 66.
On June 25, 1983, India had stunned the whole world by defeating the legendary West Indies team by 43 runs at Lord's despite being bowled out for 183 in the World Cup final match played at Lord's in England. The Kapil Dev-led team bowled out two-time champions West Indies for 140 despite being bowled out for 183 runs.
India's playing XI in 1983 World Cup final: Sunil Gavaskar, Krishnamachari Srikkanth, Mohinder Amarnath Yashpal Sharma, Sandeep Patil, Kapil Dev, Kirti Azad, Roger Binny, Madan Lal, Syed Kirmani and Balwinder Sandhu in