India’s 1983 World Cup Winning XI: Know What Members of Country’s First Cricket Champion Squad is Doing Today
That win worked wonders not only for Indian cricket but the game itself witnessed a major change with cricket achieving new fan base from the land of a billion, where cricket became an obsession ad cricketers worship idols. 37 years have now passed but the visuals a victorious Indian team at Lord’s balcony remains vivid.
Mohinder Amarnath is sprinting back into the pavilion. Not far behind is captain Kapil Dev and his men of world-beaters. India has defeated the mighty West Indies in the 1983 Cricket World Cup final to lift the Prudential Trophy. The game, which could undoubtedly triumph as the greatest upsets in sports’ history, celebrates its 37th anniversary on June 25, 2020 (Thursday). It was on this day 37 years ago when Kapil Dev lifted the World Cup at Lord’s and a cricket fever gripped India into foreverness. This Day That Year: India Defeat West Indies at Lord’s to Lift the 1983 Cricket World Cup (Watch Highlights).
But all wasn’t rosy for the Indian team when they started. No one counted on them to suddenly arrive in a tournament they had a dismal record. India had won just one in six matches at the previous two World Cups with their only win coming against East Africa. The story of Wisden Cricket Monthly’s editor David Frith receiving a letter from a fan, post-India's dramatic win, asking him to eat his words after he had written a scathing piece on India’s hopelessness in elite ICC tournaments, is still vivid in many minds.
That win worked wonders not only for Indian cricket but the game itself witnessed a major change with cricket achieving new fan base from the land of a billion, where cricket became an obsession ad cricketers worship idols. 37 years have now passed but the visuals a victorious Indian team at Lord’s balcony remains vivid. As this dream turns 37, we take a look at the winning XI and what they are doing now.
1 Kapil Dev
Captain Marvel of that marvellous team, Kapil Dev retired from cricket in 1994 and currently serves the game as a Hindi cricket commentator. He is also a businessman and has a company named Dev Musco Lighting that installs floodlights in stadiums in addition to a chain of hotels in north India.
2 Sunil Gavaskar
Gavaskar may have been in poor form at the World Cup but remains of the finest batsman cricket have ever witnessed. Gavaskar retired from cricket in 1987. He is currently one of India’s most prominent commentators and also writes cricket columns for several top newspapers.
3 Mohinder Amarnath
The Man of the Match at the World Cup semi-final and final, Amarnath was one of the best batsmen in his days and also a good bowler. He retired from the international cricket in 1989 and currently serves as a selector for North Zone. He is also a cricket Analyst and a cricket expert at several television channels.
4 Sandeep Patil
The second-highest run-scorer for India at the World Cup final, Sandeep Patil retired from cricket in 1986. Later, he coached Kenya to the World Cup semi-finals in 2003 and has also served as a chief Indian selector. At present, Patil appears as a cricket expert in several news channels.
5 Krishnamachari Srikkanth
Kris Srikanth top-scorer in the World Cup final helping India post 183 onboard even before they had planned on defending. He is a former Indian captain and a chief selector of the Indian national cricket team. Srikanth works as a cricket commentator in Star Sports Tamil
6 Roger Binny
India’s most successful bowler at the World Cup. Binny took 18 wickets in the tournament and was a catalyst to India’s success. He currently serves as an office-bearer at the Karnataka State Cricket Association and is also a cricket analyst.
7 Madan Lal
Lal coached the UAE cricket team post his retirement and also served as the head coach of the India national cricket team. At present, Lal appears as a cricket expert in several cricket shows.
8 Kirti Azad
A former Indian cricketer, Azad turned politician in 2011 and has served as a Lok Sabha member from Darbhanga, Bihar. He started his political career with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) before mobbing to Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in 2016 and from there he moved to Indian National Congress (INC) in 2019.
9 Yashpal Sharma
Yashpal Sharma was in terrific form and was a batting mainstay for India at the 1983 Cricket World Cup. After his retirement, Sharma became an umpire for some time and was also a national selector of the India national cricket team.
10 Syed Kirmani
Kirmani was India’s first-choice wicketkeeper throughout the World Cup and is widely regarded as one of the finest wicket-keepers in the country. Post-retirement, he served as the chairman of the national selection committee and was also the vice-president of Karnataka cricket association. At present, Kirmani runs a cricket academy and also appears as a cricket analyst.
11 Balwinder Singh Sandhu
His 22-run partnership at the end with Kirmani and his delivery to clean bowl Gordon Greenidge remained the highlights of his career. Post-retirement, Sandhu served as state head coach of Mumbai and Punjab and was also a national selector.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 25, 2020 08:00 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).