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| Yashpal Sharma | |
|---|---|
| Name | Yashpal Sharma |
| Country | India |
| Fullname | Yashpal Sharma |
| Birth date | 11 August 1954 |
| Birth place | Ludhiana, Punjab, India |
| Death date | 13 July 2021 |
| Death place | New Delhi |
| Batting | Right-handed |
| Role | Middle-order batsman |
| Testdebutdate | 3 February 1979 |
| Testdebutagainst | West Indies |
| Lasttestdate | 3 January 1986 |
| Lasttestagainst | England |
| Odidebutdate | 25 January 1979 |
| Odidebutagainst | West Indies |
| Lastodidate | 14 March 1985 |
| Lastodiagainst | Australia |
| Clubs | Punjab, Haryana, Railways |
Yashpal Sharma (11 August 1954 – 13 July 2021) was an Indian international cricketer who played as a right-handed middle-order batsman in the late 1970s and 1980s. He was a member of the India national cricket team that won the 1983 Cricket World Cup and later contributed to domestic cricket with Punjab, Haryana and Railways. Known for gritty innings against touring sides such as West Indies and England, he moved into coaching and administration after retirement.
Born in Ludhiana in Punjab, India, he was raised in a milieu linked to Punjabi culture and regional sport. He attended local schools before emerging through the age-group structures of Punjab and representing Punjab Schoolboys and North Zone in junior competitions. Early coaches and mentors included figures from the Punjab Cricket Association and contemporaries who later played for India.
He established himself in the Ranji Trophy representing Punjab before moving to Haryana and later playing for Railways. Notable domestic performances included pivotal knocks in Ranji knockout matches and contributions in the Duleep Trophy for North Zone. His performances against teams featuring players from Bombay (now Mumbai), Karnataka, and Delhi helped secure his international selection. He played alongside and against contemporaries such as Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev, Mohinder Amarnath, Sandeep Patil, and Dilip Vengsarkar in domestic circuits.
He debuted for India in 1979 in both Test and One Day International formats against the West Indies. He was a core middle-order batsman during the 1983 Cricket World Cup alongside Kapil Dev, Ravi Shastri, Mohinder Amarnath, Sandeep Patil, and Roger Binny, playing crucial innings in group-stage and knockout matches including games against West Indies, Zimbabwe, Australia, and England. He toured with India to destinations including England, Australia, and the West Indies and played Tests against the Pakistan national team and Sri Lanka. Key series included the 1981–82 home Tests, the 1983 World Cup campaign, and bilateral series through 1985. His international peers and opponents included Viv Richards, Gordon Greenidge, Allan Border, Imran Khan, Javed Miandad, and Ian Botham.
A compact right-handed batsman, he was noted for timing and temperament in pressure situations and for playing pivotal middle-order roles similar to contemporaries like Mohinder Amarnath and Sandeep Patil. He was valued for match-aware batting in both Tests and ODIs, often anchoring chases or stabilizing innings after top-order collapses. His fielding was competent in the infield and slips, and he batted alongside stalwarts including Sunil Gavaskar and Kapil Dev. Legacy-wise, he is remembered for contributions to the 1983 Cricket World Cup triumph, often cited in retrospectives alongside Roger Binny and Krishnamachari Srikkanth; his career inspired players from Punjab and Haryana and figures in later generations of India cricketers.
After retiring from playing, he was involved in coaching assignments and talent scouting for state associations and national youth set-ups, interacting with institutions such as the Board of Control for Cricket in India and state units like the Punjab Cricket Association and Haryana Cricket Association. He served in roles that brought him into contact with coaches and administrators including Ramakant Achrekar-era pedagogues and contemporaries from the coaching fraternity. He also worked as a selector and mentor for age-group teams and contributed to development programs aligned with the domestic structure of the Ranji Trophy and Duleep Trophy.
He hailed from a Punjabi family in Ludhiana and resided later in New Delhi. His life intersected with cricketing contemporaries and administrators from across India; he maintained ties with teams and players from Punjab, Haryana, and the national setup. He passed away in 2021, an event noted by colleagues from the India national cricket team and domestic cricket circles.
Category:1954 births Category:2021 deaths Category:Indian cricketers Category:India Test cricketers Category:India One Day International cricketers Category:Punjab cricketers Category:Haryana cricketers Category:Railways cricketers