Yashpal Sharma

Yashpal Sharma, a former India batter, constructed a part of the team's meteoric cricketing rise in the late 70s and early 80s. A man of a strong build, Sharma, with his robust defence coupled with valour, bailed India out of deep waters on numerous occasions.

Hailed as the 'Crisis Man', the Ludhaina-born first came to attention after scoring a 173-run knock against South Zone while playing for North Zone in the 1977-78 Duleep Trophy. A 99 in the Irani Trophy gave him a ticket to the national team as he made his ODI debut versus Pakistan in 1978.

The 1979 Cricket World Cup followed; Sharma made it to the squad but waited in the wings throughout the tournament. Then, it was time for the Test debut that came against England at Lord's immediately after the World Cup. He proved his mettle in the series, scoring 884 runs in three Tests. His maiden international ton came against Australia in the 1979 Delhi Test.

In an unfortunate turn of events, the wicketkeeping batter was dropped from the side after constant failures versus Australia and New Zealand in 1980-81. But it did not take too long for him to make his way back to the team. On his comeback, Sharma scored a gritty 140-run knock against England.

Playing a great role in India's 1983 World Cup success, he was the second-highest scorer after Kapil Dev, smashing 240 runs in eight games.

Following the World Cup triumph, Sharma's poor run against Pakistan and the West Indies in 1983-84 forced him out of the side. Although he did play a few ODIs afterwards, he failed to make a noticeable contribution.

He was a national selector in two different periods - 2005-07 and 2008-11.

Sharma left for his heavenly abode on July 13 2021.

(As of July 2021)