Yashpal Sharma

The 1980s saw the rise of Yashpal Sharma, a middle-order right-handed batsman from the small town of Ludhiana. Sharma’s career in Indian cricket started in 1974 when he was selected in the squad for the North Zone in first-class cricket. The Duleep Trophy in the same year saw him perform his best at 173 runs for the North Zone team. The top score of 99 runs in the Irani Trophy in the year 1973 earned him a place in the Indian team.

Sharma was a part of the Indian team that went to the 1979 World Cup. His performance in the World Cup and in 3 tests that followed was noted by the selectors of Indian team and he was retained as a player for the test matches.

Although not a profound batsman on field, Sharma played several innings supporting the lead batsman and ceasing the fall of wickets for the team. In 1980-81, Sharma hit the roof with his highest score till date. He captured 201 runs (not-out) against Victoria. The Adelaide test that followed saw him hit 47 runs in the first innings and a 147 in the second.

The performance in the Adelaide test failed to impress selectors and he was dropped from the squad. Regaining his place in the team in 1981-82, he had a revengeful come back by hitting 140 runs for a test held in Chennai.

He made it to the 1983 World Cup Team despite showing mediocre performances in the last few occurrences. The World Cup highlighted his talents as he scored 89 for the first match as India started its way towards fame and fortunes.

Nearing his retirement, Sharma was unable to live up to his fans’ expectations. A few failures against Pakistan when it toured India after the World Cup and against England the following year saw his cricketing career nearing a fading end.

After retiring from Test matches and Odis, Sharma stayed back to play first class cricket for a few years but retired from cricket altogether after 1991-92. He became an umpire to lend his judgment to few cricket matches before being a selector for the Indian national team.

Career Highlights

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