Balwinder Sandhu is a former Indian cricketer who helped India lift the 1983 World Cup trophy. He was primarily a medium-fast bowler who could bat lower down the order. Originally, he was an inswing bowler but later added out-swing to his arsenal while playing in the Kanga Cricket League.
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Wiki/Biography
Balwinder Sandhu was born on Friday, 3 August 1956 (age 65 years; as in 2021) in Bombay (now Mumbai), Maharashtra. His zodiac sign is Leo. He is a post graduate in Arts and Economics. He completed his schooling from Guru Nanak Technical High School. He then studied at Guru Nanak Khalsa College, Mumbai, Khalsa College and Jhunjhunwala College, and RN Jhunjhunwala College, Ghatkopar. Balwinder started playing cricket near his house in his childhood. There was no big ground near his house. But when he shifted to Nehru Nagar in Kurla, he saw a bigger ground and decided to play there. However, the ground was dirty so he decided to clean it with his friends. After cleaning, he made a pitch in the middle and started playing there. Due to this, Balwinder’s interest in cricket started increasing. When he was 16, he went to a summer vacation camp organized by the Bombay Cricket Association. He further disclosed,
“The only reason I went there was because all my friends were going, and I didn’t know what to do. I was good at tennis ball cricket and along with off-spinner bowling, I also batted very well. But I had no interest in leather ball cricket and felt a little scared while batting. Baba Sidhaye was the coach at that time and he was very impressed with my bowling. Although I got selected, I was not very serious for two-three years.”
It was only after joining Jhunjhunwala College that he became serious about cricket and his performance improved significantly which instilled more passion in him. During that phase, he took 25 wickets in three matches. He learned the art of swing bowling during the Kanga Cricket League. It so happened that the fast bowler of his team had not come, so Balwinder decided to bowl fast. However, they were getting wickets but were struggling on dry pitches. He started his cricket career in the late 1980s when former first-class cricketer Yashwant ‘Baba’ Sidhay spotted him during a summer training camp. Soon, he came under the tutelage of renowned cricket coach Ramakant Achrekar and spent a few years with him at the ‘Shivaji Park’ ground in Mumbai.
Balwinder Sandhu photo from playing days
Physical Appearance
Height (Approx): 5′ 9″
Weight (Approx): 65 kg
Hair Color: Gray
Eye colour: dark brown
Family
parents and siblings
His father’s name is Harnam Singh Naz and he was a famous poet.
Harnam Singh Naaz
His mother’s name is Gurcharan Kaur.
wife and children
He is married to Ravinder Kaur.
Balwinder Sandhu’s wedding
The couple is blessed with two daughters named Timrar Kaur (Nazo) and Jankish Kaur.
Balwinder Sandhu with his family
Address
Balwinder Sandhu lives in Neelkanth Gardens in Govandi, near Chembur, Mumbai.
signature/autograph
Balwinder Sandhu’s autograph
livelihood
International debut
Examination
Against Pakistan at Niaz Cricket Stadium in Hyderabad, Pakistan on 14 January 1983
ODI
Against Pakistan at Jinnah Stadium, Gujranwala, Pakistan on 3 December 1982
record
Highest score by a player debuting at No. 9 position in Test cricket
statistics
batting statistics
Testmatch- 8 innings- 11 not out- 4 runs- 214 Highest score- 71 Average- 30.57100 seconds- 050 seconds- 20 seconds- 1
One Day International Match – 22 Innings – 7 Not Out – 3 Runs – 51 Highest Score – 16 Average – 12.75 Balls Faced – 97 Strike Rate – 52.57100 Seconds – 050 Seconds – 00 Seconds – 2
bowling statistics
Test match- 8 innings- 10 overs- 170.0 Maiden- 32 runs given- 557 wickets- 10BBI- 3/87BBM- 3/87Average- 55.87Economy- 3.27Strike rate- 102.05W- 010W- 0
One Day International Match – 22 Innings – 21 Overs – 185.0 Maidens – 15 Runs Conceded – 763 Wickets – 16BBI – 3/27 Average – 47.68 Economy – 4.12 Strike Rate – 69.34 W- 05 W- 0
He made his first-class debut for the Bombay team in 1980–81 when their regular fast bowler Karsan Ghavri was out of the game as he was playing for the Indian national team. Balwinder was dropped from the first two matches but soon made his debut against Gujarat where he took nine wickets. After this he was kept out of the team to play the final against Delhi. At that time, Ravi Kulkarni ruled himself out at the last moment and thus made it into the team, where he took nine wickets. He was the opening bowler who at one time helped Bombay reduce Delhi’s score to 18 runs for 5 wickets. He took nine wickets in that match and 25 wickets in the entire tournament at an average of 18.72. Before that tournament, he played for Sindh Sports Club in the Kanga Cricket League for Rajasthan in 1979. In the first match, he dismissed four of their batsmen for 36 runs and helped his team bowl out United Cricketers for 90 runs. In the next game, he took 7 for 35 against Shivaji Park Gymkhana. He broke into the Indian team after taking five wickets in the Irani Trophy and eight wickets in the Duleep Trophy for West Zone in the 1982–83 season. In that season, he also scored 56 runs while batting at number 11 for West Zone.
Balwinder Sandhu’s bowling action
Since Madan Lal was ruled out of the match due to a heel bone injury, Balwinder got the chance to play the fourth Test in Hyderabad where he took the wickets of Mohsin Khan and Haroon Rashid in consecutive balls. However, Javed Miandad and Mudassar Nazar made a record partnership of 451 runs. After this, Balwinder, batting at number nine, quickly scored 71 runs and made an important partnership with Mohinder Amarnath. These 71 runs came when India’s score was 72 runs for 7 wickets. In the next Test series against the West Indies at Bridgetown, he scored 68 runs in the first innings. After that Test, he took the wickets of three West Indies batsmen while conceding just one run. In the 1983 World Cup, he made a 22-run partnership for the tenth wicket with Syed Kirmani and helped India score 183 runs in the final of the tournament against West Indies. In that innings, a bouncer from Malcolm Marshall hit his ear. Recalling that moment he said,
“It was as if someone had slapped me hard. All I could feel was that my ears had become hot and there was a whistling sound in my left ear. But I also knew one more thing – I had to show them that I wasn’t feeling any pain. Moral victory had to be mine. I didn’t even rub the spot where it was hurting, I turned and turned to face Marshall as if nothing had happened.
Furthermore, he says,
“West Indies knew I could be a stubborn No. 11. I was disappointing them by holding one end. They wanted to get rid of me. Not only Marshall, but all of them were also taunting me. But that blow on the helmet made me even more stubborn. ‘Now let me show you!’ I thought.”
During West Indies’ batting, Balwinder Sandhu bowled the second over with Kapil Dev and took the key wicket of Gordon Greenidge which laid the foundation for India’s victory. This delivery is also known as ‘banana skin delivery’. While disclosing this dismissal he said
“There is a debate going on between Kapil Dev and me on this. I keep telling him that Richards’ wicket was a game-changing moment because it was at a crucial stage. My ball hit us at the door to dismiss Greenidge, but it was Kapil’s catch that opened the door for us. But the Greenidge wicket gave us hope and the world depends on hope.”
Gordon Greenidge was bowled by Balwinder Sandhu in the 1983 World Cup final.
View of Lord’s ground after India won the 1983 World Cup
He played his last Test on 12 November 1983 against West Indies in Ahmedabad. He took one wicket in his second innings, with Kapil Dev taking all nine wickets for 83 runs. In 1984–85, he scored 98 against Tamil Nadu to help Bombay take a first innings lead in the Ranji semi-finals. After retirement, he became the coach of Mumbai and Punjab. Apart from this, he also worked with the National Cricket Academy. In 1990, he played for the Kenyan club. After becoming the coach of Baroda, he made small changes in the run-up of Indian fast bowler Zaheer Khan and helped his team finish in the top four in the Ranji Trophy season. In 2008, he also became a part of the Indian Cricket League (ICL) for some time.
Favorite
- Sports: Hockey, Badminton, Football
Facts/General Knowledge
- Recalling his experience with Ramakant Achrekar he said,
“When I played in Achrekar sir’s team, he used to say, you have a good inswing, develop it.” [you have good inswing, you should develop it], In the matches organized by Sir, I used to bowl 20-25 overs in a game. This helped my accuracy. Later I came to know that Achrekar sir had instructed all the captains, “Not to stop this Sardar’s bowling. Unless he gets hit or gets tired.” [Don’t stop this Sardar’s bowling till he is hit for runs or he tires out],
- He wrote a book named ‘The Devil’s Pack’ which was published on 1 February 2011. This book is about India’s journey in winning the 1983 Cricket World Cup.
Balwinder Sandhu’s book
- A Bollywood film has been released on 24 December 2021 that begins India’s journey towards winning the 1983 World Cup. The name of this film is ’83’ and in it Ammy Virk is playing the character of Balwinder Sandhu.
Balwinder Sandhu with Ammi Virk
- His uncle Harcharan Singh was part of the Indian team at the 1975 Hockey World Cup.
- While revealing some memorable moments of the 1983 World Cup, he said,
“This is an incident that is still fresh in my mind. I was fielding on the boundary line during the final and there was a West Indies fan who was telling me that India can’t win the World Cup, West Indies will win the World Cup. When I got the first wicket, he again taunted me and said, ‘India can’t win the World Cup; West Indies will win the World Cup. Want to bet, buddy?’ He kept repeating those lines throughout the game, even though West Indies were continuously losing wickets. Even after falling behind by nine runs, he continued supporting his team. I think that’s the kind of support every team wants and it’s something I can’t forget. That’s the West Indian spirit; They enjoy good cricket, they cheer for good cricket and they love their team and their cricket heroes, even if they sometimes fail.”
Categories: Biography
Source: vcmp.edu.vn