Yashpal Sharma tributes: Stunned cricket fraternity mourns after 1983 World Cup winner’s death

In his international career, Yashpal Sharma, who was also a national selector during early part of 2000s, played 37 Tests, scoring 1606 runs, and 42 ODIs in which he made 883.

India’s cricket fraternity was in shock and disbelief as it mourned the death of 1983 World Cup hero Yashpal Sharma on Tuesday (July 13), paying glowing tributes to the former batsman with his teammates from that historic triumph breaking down while remembering him. Yashpal, a former middle-order batsman, died on Tuesday after suffering a massive cardiac arrest here. He was 66 and is survived by his wife, two daughters and a son. Captain of the 1983 team Kapil Dev broke down when news agency PTI contacted him and could only say, “I won’t be able to speak.” Yashpal’s other teammates were as shocked. The 1983 squad had met on the sidelines of a book launch here a couple of weeks ago. Former spinner Balwinder Singh Sandhu, who was a part of that team, said he is heartbroken in a choked voice.