Saddened by the untimely demise of India's 1983 World Cup hero Yashpal Sharma, the BCCI President and former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly mourned the death of the former cricketer while expressing gratitude for being able to work with him.
Yashpal, a key member of India’s 1983 World Cup-winning side, died of a cardiac arrest on Tuesday (July 13) at the age of 66. He was survived by his wife, two daughters, and a son.
Ganguly is saddened after learning about the sudden demise of the World Cup-winning cricketer and took to Twitter to pay tribute to the former cricketer on Tuesday.
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He wrote on Twitter, “Sad to hear the news of Yashpal Sharma ..had the opportunity to work with him as captain, player and then on TV. A very important part of the 1983 win which showed young players like us dream of trophies. RIP.”
Meanwhile, BCCI Secretary Jay Shah paid tribute to Sharma by saying: “Yashpal Sharma will be remembered by all for his batting heroics in India's 1983 World Cup-winning campaign.”
Shah added, “Apart from being one of the key architects from that historic win, he also had an illustrious cricketing career and will fondly be remembered for being a great servant of Indian cricket. The Board shares the pain and grief of the family and prays for the departed soul.”
BCCI Treasurer Arun Dhumal said, “A gritty batsman and a team man, Yashpal Sharma never shied away from challenges and that quality of his will continue to inspire the upcoming cricketers. My heartfelt condolences to his family and loved ones.”
Notably, the middle-order batsman represented India in 37 Tests and 42 ODIs for India between 1978 and 1985 and scored 1606 and 883 runs respectively. He was the second-highest run-getter in India's historic 1983 World Cup triumph with 240 runs.
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In his first-class career spanning nearly two decades, Sharma played 160 matches, representing Punjab, Haryana, and Railways, and scored 8933 runs with 21 centuries and 46 half-centuries.
After retirement, Sharma was involved in coaching, commentary, and cricket administration, as he served as a national selector between 2004 and 2005 and again between 2008 and 2011. He was also part of the selection committee that picked India's 2011 World Cup-winning squad.
The former cricketer also officiated in a number of domestic matches, both as an umpire and match referee and was recently part of Delhi's Cricket Advisory Committee.
