Yashpal Sharma, the India batsman who saved Kapil’s Devils in the 1983 World Cup, has died.

In the 1983 World Cup, Yashpal Sharma was the backbone of India’s middle order, and he set the tone for Kapil’s Devils with a brave 89 against the reigning champions West Indies in the opening group match.

Yashpal Sharma, a former India batsman and member of the 1983 World Cup-winning team, died on Tuesday morning at his home in Noida after suffering heart arrest.

Yashpal Sharma’s gritty batting style and traits like courage, focus, commitment, and patience provided depth to the Indian middle order from 1979 to 1983. Yashpal had the ability to dull the edge of any attack with good defense, making him a perfect guy for a crisis.

Yashpal, a tenacious middle-order batsman, made his India debut in an ODI against Pakistan in Sialkot in 1978. The right-handed batsman, who was the backbone of India’s middle-order during the 1983 World Cup, played 37 Test matches and 42 One-Day Internationals, scoring 1606 runs.

Yashpal was a member of the Indian World Cup team in 1979, however, he did not feature in any of the tournament games. He did, however, play in three of the four-Test matches in the series after the World Cup. During the England trip, he scored 884 runs at an average of 58.93.

But it was his efforts in India’s first World Cup victory, in 1983, that left him with the most worldwide recognition. Yashpal was a member of India’s World Cup-winning side in 1983 and was instrumental in the team’s victory. He scored 240 runs at an average of 34.28 to finish the tournament as India’s second-highest run-scorer after skipper Kapil Dev.

In India’s 34-run victory over West Indies in their opening encounter of the 1983 World Cup, Sharma top-scored with 89 (from 120 balls) to help India reach 262/8. India gained the confidence to go on and win the championship after their victory in Manchester.

After the World Cup victory, Yashpal’s career took a turn for the worst. After dismal performances against Pakistan and the West Indies in 1983/84, he was dropped from the Test team. He was never able to return to the Test team, but he did play a few ODIs following his removal.

Yashpal scored 1606 runs in 37 Tests and 883 runs in 42 ODIs throughout his international career. In addition, he took one wicket in each of the two formats. Yashpal played 160 Ranji Trophy matches for three teams — Punjab, Haryana, and Railways — collecting 8,933 runs, including 21 centuries and the best score of 201 not out.

After retiring, Yashpal tried his hand at umpiring for a while before becoming a national selector for a few years until December 2005, when he was reappointed to the panel. In addition to being a former player, he also coached the Uttar Pradesh Ranji squad.

In the forthcoming film ’83, which pays tribute to India’s 1983 World Cup-winning squad, Sacred Games’ Jatin Sharma will play Yashpal’s part. Streaming video