New Delhi: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday said that the 1983 Cricket World Cup victory was an inflexion point in the history of Indian cricket. Speaking at the release of former Indian Cricketer Mohinder Amarnath’s memoir ‘Fearless’, Jaishankar said that now the role has fundamentally changed.

Praising Amarnath, the EAM said, “I think nobody has any doubt that 1983 was the inflexion point. It was not just the inflexion point, he but the man of the match of the inflexion point. Now, there are some younger people in the room who may not really understand how big 1983 was,” the EAM said.

“Countries have won the World Cup, not just us. Pakistan won it at one point and Sri Lanka won it at one point. But nowhere else was it as big an inflexion point as it was in the history of cricket. Because, if you look at India’s role in world cricket after 1983, it fundamentally changed,” he added.

Jaishankar’s Statement:

‘FEARLESS – A Memoir’ by Mohinder Amarnath with his brother Rajender Amarnath was published by HarperCollins India.

Mohinder Amarnath was awarded man of the match for his all-round performance in the 1983 World Cup. He scored 26 runs and took three wickets in the final. Mohinder Amarnath is the son of Lala Amarnath, the first post-independence captain of India.

Mohinder made his debut against Australia at Chennai in December 1969 as a bowling allrounder. He played 69 Tests scoring 4,378 runs at a batting average of 42.50, with 11 hundreds and 24 fifties, and clinched 32 wickets. In 85 One Day Internationals, he scored 1,924 runs at an average of 30.53 and a highest score of 102 n.o. and claimed 46 wickets.