1983 WC Star Yashpal Sharma Dies

Former India batsman Yashpal Sharma, who played in the historic 1983 World Cup-winning side, passed away on Tuesday at his home in Noida. He was 66 and suffered a heart attack.

The family members said that Sharma complained of chest pain as soon as he returned from a morning walk. He then collapsed at around 7.30 am. He was a popular right-handed batsman and often called the backbone of India’s middle-order in the 1983 World Cup.

Sharma played 37 Test matches, scoring 1606 runs, and 42 ODIs scoring 883 runs. He also played 160 first-class matches, representing Punjab, Haryana and Railways, and scored 8933 runs. He earned international fame with his remarkable performance in India’s first World Cup win, in 1983.

He aggregated 240 runs at an average of 34.28 to return as the second-highest scorer for India behind skipper Kapil Dev in the tournament. Sharma had top-scored with 89 (off 120 balls) to help India make 262/8 in their 34-run victory over West Indies in their first match of the 1983 World Cup.

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