The 1983 World Cup was the turning point in world cricket. The dominance of the West Indies had come to an end. And this was the last world cup to be held in England. The Indian Cricket Team led by Kapil Dev fought all the odds and won the trophy. The tournament also saw one of the best innings in world cricket by Kapil Dev. The Windies team was also on a roll. They played exceptional cricket and so did Pakistan. The Indian team had several great players like Sunil Gavaskar, Dilip Vengsakar, Syed Kirmani, and many others. But where are they now? Here is an in-depth look:
Sunil Gavaskar was a part of the 1983 World Cup:
Sunil Gavaskar was a part of the 1983 World Cup-winning team. Gavaskar from then on went on to become the first player on the planet to score 10,000 runs. Gavaskar left behind him a true legacy. It was carried on by Sachin Tendulkar and then later by Virat Kohli. He has been involved in almost every major role in Indian cricket management. He was the chief advisor of the Indian Cricket Team in 2004. This position is today called as being the “Mentor”. He has also been the Chairman of the ICC. Sunil Gavaskar has also served as the President of the BCCI for a selected period in 2014. His contribution to Indian cricket has been immense.
One generation has seen Gavaskar as a player and the other as a broadcaster. He is India’s top commentator. Gavaskar is fearless and a very smart linguist. He has always been critical of the mishappenings on the pitch and doesn’t shy away from being politically incorrect at times. This just shows the freedom that he has while commentating.
Krishnamachari Srikkanth was a part of the 1983 World Cup:
Srikkanth was a younger player among these senior players in the 1983 World Cup-winning team. Cheeka as he is popularly known played a big part in the final scoring 38 runs. He has also played a part in the Indian Cricket Team’s 2011 World Cup Triumph as he was the chief selector back then. He picked the squad that helped India win their second ODI World Cup. Srikkanth is included in the panel of the All India Council of Sports (AICS) as a member in January 2020. Cheeka has helped in grooming youngsters when he was the coach of the India A team. He is currently associated with Star Sports as a Tamil commentator.
Mohinder Amarnath was a part of the 1983 World Cup:
Mohinder Amarnath, the son of Lala Amarnath was an integral part of India’s 1983 campaign. His spell in the final match flipped the game in India’s favor. Amarnath has tried his hand at coaching ever since his retirement. He was also featured in a TV show named “Cricket with Mohinder Amarnath”. At his time, he was the top all-rounder in the cricketing circuit.
Yashpal Sharma was a part of the 1983 World Cup:
Yashpal Sharma was “India’s Forever Crisis Man” as regarded by Sunil Gavaskar. Sharma walked to bat at number 4 or 5. He was a big match player. Yash was a fun-loving character on the field. Yashpal Sharma retired in the 1991-1992 season. He also gave some time for umpiring games. Later on, he was appointed as the Chief Selector of the Indian Cricket team in 2004. He built the base for the 2011 World Cup as players like MS Dhoni, Suresh Raina, and Yuvi were drafted into the national team. He was the coach for the UP Ranji squad in 2012. The unfortunate demise of Yashpal happened due to a cardiac arrest in 2021.
Sandeep Patil was a part of the 1983 World Cup:
Sandeep Patil, the charismatic freak from the 1983 World Cup-winning team has immensely contributed to Indian Cricket. Post his retirement Sandeep tried his hand at acting in Bollywood. He, later on, switched his position to being the manager of age-group cricket in India. He was the first individual to work on minimizing age fraud in cricket. His biggest achievement post-retirement was the fact that he led Kenya, the underdogs to the World Cup semifinal in 2003 as a coach. Sandeep currently associates himself with Star Sports as a Marathi commentator and analyst. He was also the chairman of the Indian Selection Committee in 2012.
Kapil Dev was a part of the 1983 World Cup:
Kapil Dev became the nation’s heartthrob after the triumph of the 1983 World Cup. Dev is currently playing golf in charity tournaments and is enjoying the riches of his life. He was the only one who believed that the Indian team would get their hands on the World Cup. He could foresee the talent and potential that his teammates had. Dev worked as the coach of the Indian National team in 1999 after Ansuman Gaikwad. Kapil dev and his stint with the national team were marred by the match-fixing and betting allegations. He chose to stay away from the game for 5 to 6 years. Kapil returned in 2004 as a bowling consultant for the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore. He also is the chancellor of the Haryana Sports University.
Madan Lal was a part of the 1983 World Cup:
Madan Lal will always be celebrated for taking the wicket of Viv Richards in the big final. Lal worked in various sporting organizations post-retirement. He coached the UAE national team in 1996. He also took up the job of the Indian National team coach later in 1996 for a year. Madan Lal was appointed as a chief coach in the Sanjay Jagdale Cricket Academy, the MPCA’s job in 2010. Lal also entered into politics in 2010 in Himachal Pradesh. He stood against Anurag Thakur and stood for the Indian National Congress.
Roger Binny was a part of the 1983 World Cup:
The leading wicket-taker and tail-ending batter of the 1983 World Cup have immense contributions. He currently works at the Karnataka State Cricket Association. Year after year, under his watch, Karnataka has become a giant in domestic cricket. Manish Pandey, Karun Nair, Prasidh Krishna, Mayank Agarwal, Devdutt Padikkal, KL Rahul, K Gowtham, and Shreyas Gopal are all players given by Roger Binny. Under his watch, the KSCA is doing very well.
Ravi Shastri was a part of the 1983 World Cup:
Ravi Shastri needs no introduction. He has been in the public eye recently. After ending his international career at the young age of 31, Shastri moved to commentary and broadcasting. Ravi Shastri has had two successful stints with the Indian national team as the coach. He was associated with the team after Duncan Fletcher in 2014 and coached till 2016. He made sure that India wins the test mace once in 2017.
After Anil Kumble resigned from the position in 2018, Shastri was again appointed. He along with Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma took Indian Cricket to new heights. They assured dominance over the Test format for over 6 years. After all these years, every cricket fan can still listen to Ravi Shastri’s commentary as he is now associated with Star Sports, the official broadcaster of the IPL.
Kirti Azad:
Kirti Azad will always be cherished for taking the big wicket of Ian Botham in the 1983 World Cup game against England. Azad didn’t play much at the top-most level. He went into politics immediately. But his exploits in politics are immense. He fought all his elections from Darbhanga in Bihar. He first won the elections from the Bhartiya Janata Party. Azad was then removed from the party after he rightly accused Arun Jaitley, the then finance minister of some wrongdoings. He later switched to the Indian National Congress and currently is a member of the Trinamool Congress.
Dilip Vengsarkar:
Dilip Vengsarkar was one player who had effectively filled the void of Sunil Gavaskar in the Indian National team. In the second game against the West Indies, he was playing well until the “Big 4” decided to use bodyline tactics against him. Dilip post-retirement has also contributed a lot to the development of the game. Vengsarkar was the one who scouted and picked Virat Kohli and got him to the national team. He chose Virat over Subramaniam Badrinath and today Virat is the face of international cricket. Dilip has also started an Elf-Vengsarkar academy. He has also been the VP of the MCA since 2003.
Balwinder Singh Sandhu was a part of the 1983 World Cup:
Balwinder Singh Sandhu swung the ball like a magician on the day of the victory. Legend says that Gordon Greenidge is still wondering how the ball swung so much. Balwinder Singh Sandhu’s post-retirement lends his hand to Kenyan Cricket and its development. He also worked as the Chief Coach of the Mumbai Cricket Association. His contribution to the Punjab Cricket Association is unmatched. Sandhu also helped Director Kabir Khan to deal with the minutes of the movie “83” which was based on the 1983 World Cup victory of India.
Syed Kirmani:
Syed Kirmani and his slow knock against Zimbabwe will always cherish. He was in the best seat and could see Kapil Dev bash all the bowlers. Syed Kirmani and his work in Hyderabad in the field of sport is too good.
Sunil Valson:
Sunil Valson has one of the best stories regarding the 1983 World Cup. Imagine not getting a chance even after being in the top 13. That must be a tough pill to swallow and Sunil did exactly that. He was the rock that allowed Kapil Dev to play all his cards. Valson was a complete team man. He is currently the manager of the Delhi Capitals.
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