Yashpal Sharma Was No.1 Product Of Lucknow's Sheesh Mahal Trophy

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India's 1983 World Cup-winning batsman Yashpal Sharma, who passed away on Tuesday aged 66, owed his rise to stardom to two summer tournaments he regularly played in Lucknow for several years - the Sheesh Mahal Trophy and the Sir Frank Worrell Trophy, in which he scored prolifically.

Both tournaments, now discontinued, used to be played in peak summer, in April-May, in Lucknow and Sharma was probably the biggest player that emerged from there, particularly from the Sheesh Mahal Trophy. Sharma started appearing in the tournament in early 1970s.

Some of Lucknow's stalwarts, like Ashok Bambi, Mazhar Ali Ansari, and Pervez Ullah, who played against Sharma, say he must have scored 10 or
12 centuries, including two double hundreds, that helped his stature grow as a solid middle-order batsman.

Sharma first represented the Food Corporation of India, with which he was employed, and for the State Bank of India (SBI), which he joined later. All-rounder Mazhar Ali Ansari, who played 35 Ranji Trophy/first-class matches for Uttar Pradesh between 1984 and 1992, said that Sharma was a runaway success in the Sir Frank Worrell Trophy, which was discontinued in the mid-1980s, and in the Sheesh Mahal Trophy in particular.

"He was physically very fit. His running between the wickets, even in those days, was brilliant. He used to steal what we often call 'cheeky singles'. And he used to hit towering success. Once, he hit two centuries in one tournament," Ansari told IANS from Lucknow.

"I remember local media reports in Lucknow said that his performances in the Sheesh Mahal Trophy were considered when he was picked for India. In those days, the Sheesh Mahal matches were of three-day duration and later it became a limited overs tournament," he recalled.

Sharma made his One-day International debut first, against Pakistan in Sialkot in 1978, and then the Test debut, against England at Lord's, London, in 1979. He went on to play 37 Tests and 42 ODIs, until 1985. Bambi, who captained Uttar Pradesh and Wills XI teams in domestic tournaments, too applauded Sharma's batsmanship.

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