1983 World Cup Winning Captain Kapil Dev Breaks Down, Says ‘Still Can’t Believe It is True’ On Yashpal Sharma’s Death

New Delhi: Former India captain Kapil Dev broke down while remembering former India middle-order batsman Yashpal Sharma who passed away on Tuesday morning after suffering a massive cardiac arrest. According to sources, Yashpal collapsed at home after returning from his morning walk here.

‘I still can’t believe it is true,’ Kapil Dev told ABP News. ‘We met only last week. We cannot fight with the will of God. After the news of his death, I am finding it difficult to handle myself emotionally.’ added the former India World Cup-winning captain before breaking down.

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Former India captain Dilip Vengsarkar expressed shock at his teammate’s demise. The 1983 squad had met on the sidelines of a book launch here a couple of weeks ago.

“It is unbelievable. He was the fittest among all of us. I had asked him that day when we met how about his routine. He was a vegetarian, teetotaller, used to have soup for his dinner and very particular about his morning walks. I am just shocked,” Vengsarkar told PTI.

“As a player, he was a proper team man and a fighter. I fondly remember the 1979 Test against Pakistan in Delhi. We both had a partnership that helped us save the game. I knew him since my university days. Still can’t believe it,” he added.

“He told me that day we met that I had lost weight. We had a great reunion. I remember the very first game in the 1983 World Cup playing the mighty West Indies with those fast bowlers, he set the agenda and we won that game,” said former teammate Kirti Azad.

“He was again fantastic in the semifinal hitting Bob Willis for a six. Nowadays people say (Ravindra) Jadeja hits stumps regularly but so did Yashpal. He was a livewire on the field and would hit stumps all the time,” he recalled.

Yashpal Sharma was 66 and is survived by his wife, two daughters and a son.