They were called the ‘Kapil’s Devils’. The 11 who made India proud by giving India their maiden World Cup win in 1983. Well, one of the ‘Devils’ has now departed for his eternal abode and this is a void that will probably be always felt by 10 the others, as well as Ravi Shastri, Dilip Vengsarkar and Sunil Valson – the last three who did not play that monumental final against the West Indies.
But then how will one remember Yashpal Sharma… he did not have the flair or the precocious talent that makes one stand out among mere mortals. Will he just be remembered as just another member of the 1983 World Cup winning squad?
See what Sachin Tendulkar says on Yashpal Sharma’s death: https://twitter.com/sachin_rt/status/1414835843701739524
Well there will be many pictures that will firmly be embedded among the minds of those who followed Indian cricket in the late 1970s and the better part 1980s. One of them would be of the pint-sized Yashi-pa (as his friends and well-wishers often called him) stepping down the pitch to hit the tall and burly England pacer Paul Allott for a huge six in the 1983 World Cup semifinal. It was probably the first time that a batsman, an Indian batsman at that, who showed the guts to step out to a fast bowler. It was not only Paul Allott who suffered such a treatment, even the fearsome West Indies pace quartet of Andy Roberts, Joel Garner, Michael Holding and Malcolm Marshal had to face a marauding Yashpal Sharma on a number of occasions.
India won the 1983 World Cup and people tend to remember the likes of Mohinder (Jimmy Amarnath), Kris Srikkanth and the legendary Kapil Dev. But how many remember that the seeds of the final win were sowed when India beat the West Indies by 34 runs in the group encounter. It was the first defeat, the West Indies had suffered in the World Cup and it came courtesy a person named Mr Yashpal Sharma. He scored 89 in the game and the knock gave Kapil’s Devils the confidence that the West Indies were not unbeatable.
My first meeting with Yashi Pa was during a Bengal-Delhi Ranji Trophy game at Delhi in 1991. He was having a chat with dear friend Ashok Malhotra. With the 1992 World Cup fast approaching, here was the chance for this journalist to get some juicy anecdotes of the 1983 World Cup. I never knew Yashi Pa (praaji meaning elder brother in unjabi) at that time then and his first retort was, “Ask your sports editor, how much money he will give. The experiences I will share are priceless.” I went back to my press box chair with a thousand silent expletives within my mind.
Lo behold… around 30 minutes later, I saw him signalling at me. “Ask me what you want” was his first statement. And then passed 30 minutes of story-telling. No there were no tales extra-ordinaire… those were simple tales. Yet they symbolised the man the way he played his cricket… just sheer guts… no favour given, no quarter asked for.
A cricketer who has played 37 Tests (1,606 runs) and 42 ODIs (883 runs) cannot simply be called ‘great’ by any means. Yashi pa’s greatness lies in the fact that he got noticed even when India had legends like Kapil Dev, Mohinder Amarnath, Sunil Gavaskar and Syed Kirmani in the playing XI. He did so with his sheer grit, guts and determination.
Yashi pa once told a budding cricketer, who later went on to became an icon a very simple fact about cricket. “Not a single run is easy in international cricket, so steal as many as possible.” It was this policy which made him quicksilver between the wickets as well as in the covers when he was without his pads.
In one word… he was the common man’s cricketer. One who never inspired, but one who everyone thought they could easily emulate. It was this trait which made Yashpal Sharma so likeable, so down to earth.
Kapil’s Devils won’t be the same anymore. They will certainly miss this is one ‘devil’ who has certainly gone to ‘heaven’.
Sakyasen Mittra
