1983 World Cup heroes brought to book by Balwinder Sandhu

Updated on: 25 January,2011 09:08 AM IST |
Clayton Murzello | clayton@mid-day.com

Balwinder Singh Sandhu, the swing bowler, who claimed the first wicket for India in the 1983 World Cup final against West Indies, has toed the write line

Balwinder Singh Sandhu, the swing bowler, who claimed the first wicket for India in the 1983 World Cup final against West Indies, has toed the write line.

Sandhu (54) has written a book on his World Cup teammates entitled The Devil's Pack. It features all his 13 teammates apart from manager P R Man Singh.

Sandhu decided to write a book after he discovered the current generation didn't know much about men who contributed greatly to the willow game. He was speaking to a group of young Mumbai cricketers, who had seen footage of Eknath Solkar's bravado while fielding at short leg. But when Sandhu asked them which team he represented, he got 'Madhya Pradesh' for an answer.

It's an anecdotes-filled book and one which could end up as one of the most amusing for readers is a jubilant, jumping Krishnamachari Srikkanth's spiked shoes piercing wicketkeeper Syed Kirmani's shoes and bruising his toes.

"I want people to appreciate the human side of my teammates. They were superstars, but also human," Sandhu told MiD DAY yesterday. "I have also written a lot on the 1982-83 tour to the West Indies. It is there where we got the self belief to succeed at the World Cup."

Sandhu says he spent over six months writing the book and as a result, suffered from back spasms. He has not been coy to tread uncomfortable territory.

He mentions in the book that he was upset when Kirmani said during the silver jubilee celebrations of the 1983 World Cup that his inswinger which dismissed Gordon Greenidge in the final was a fluke. Sandhu confronted Kirmani and the matter was sorted out with the stumper admitting his mistake.

"Exciting news! Mid-day is now on WhatsApp Channels