Mohinder Amarnath is an Indian former cricketer. He was one of the finest batsman against the fast bowling attack. He was also known as the "Comeback King". He was part of the 1983 World Cup winning team. He performed very well in the whole world cup. He played a star role in leading India to their first ever One Day International title and first World Cup win. He was the "Man of the Match" in the final and semi-final of the 1983 World Cup. He was one of the best all-rounder India ever produced.
Mohinder Amarnath's Early and Personal Life
- Full Name : Mohinder Amarnath Bhardwaj
- Nick Name : Jimmy
- Born : 24th September, 1950, Patiala, Punjab
- Father Name : Lala Amarnath
- Mother Name : Kailash Kumari
- Spouse : Inderjit Amarnath
- Siblings : Rajinder, Surinder Amarnath
- Batting : Right handed
- Bowling : Right arm medium
- Role : Batting All-rounder
Mohinder Amarnath's father Lala Amarnath was the first post-independence captain of India. He completed his schooling from MB High School, Mandir Marg, Delhi and from Khalsa College, Delhi University he completed his graduation.
His brother Surinder Amarnath is a former Test player and Rajinder Amarnath is a former first class cricketer and current cricket coach. Mohinder Amarnath is married to Inderjit Amarnath, and they have one daughter.
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| Mohinder Amarnath with his family |
Domestic Career
In 1966-67, Mohinder Amarnath made his first class debut for Vazir Sultan Tobacco Colts in the Moin-Ud-Dowala Trophy. In 1969 he made Ranji debut for Punjab and from 1969 to 1974, he played for Punjab. From 1974 to 1984, he played for Delhi. In 1984, he played for Baroda and in the same year he joined Wiltshire County Club of England.
International Career
In December 1969, Mohinder Amarnath made his debut under the captaincy of Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi against Australia at Chennai as a quick-bowling all rounder. He scored 16 & 0 and took two wickets in that Test match. After that match he was dropped from the team and he got a place in the team again in 1975. He continued to be in and out of the team until the early 1980s.
The away Tests against Pakistan and West Indies in 1982-83 was the turning point oh his career. He played 11 Tests against Pakistan and West Indies, and scored close to 1200 runs. Mohinder Amarnath was jointly awarded "Man of the Series" with Imran Khan against Pakistan. He started his career as a medium pace bowler but finished as one of the best batsmen produced by India.
Mohinder Amarnath scored 4378 runs in 69 tests at an average of 42.50. He scored 11 centuries and 24 fifties. He made his first test century at Perth at the WACA, the fastest and bounciest wicket in the world. He took 32 wickets at an average of 55.68 in Tests. He scored 1924 runs at an average of 30.53 in 85 One Day Internationals at an average of 30.53. He scored two hundreds and 13 fifties and claimed 46 wickets in his ODI career.
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| Mohinder Amarnath's Stats |
1983 World Cup
India had never won a world cup before 1983. In that World Cup too, team India was weak and underdog. No one thought that India would win the World Cup but India won that cup because of the good performance of Mohinder Amarnath and players.
Mohinder Amarnath is known for his performance in the 1983 Cricket World Cup. He took the wickets of England's top order batsmen David Gower and Mike Gatting in the semi-finals with his seam and accurate bowling. In his 12 overs, he gave only 27 runs with an economy of 2.25. While batting, he scored 46 runs and helped the team to won the match. He was awarded "Man of the Match" for his all round performance.
In the final, India faced West Indies, who had the most dangerous bowling attack in the world at that time. In the final, India batted first against the West Indies and bowled out at 183 in 54.4 overs. Mohinder Amarnath played calm and composed inning against West Indian fast bowling and scored important 26 runs in 80 balls. Due to poor batting performance, India's chances of winning the World Cup seemed to be over. India took advantage of the pitch and weather conditions and bowled out the West Indies for 140 runs with swing and accurate bowling, thus won the finals by 43 runs. Mohinder Amarnath took 3 wickets and conceded just 12 runs in 7 overs at an economy of 1.71. He was the "Man of the Match" for his brilliant all round performance.
Decline of career
After the brilliant performance in the 1983 World Cup, his career began to decline. He scored just 11 runs in two games against visiting Pakistan and only 1 run in 6 innings against West Indies. He lost his place again in the team. However, he returned with a bang, and scored 101 runs against Pakistan at Lahore and won the match for India.
Later on, he was good with the bat and ball against England at home. In 1986, he scored a century against Sri Lanka in Kandy. In the series against Australia, he was criticized for scoring just 3 runs in 42 minutes where India needed quick runs to won the match. He scored his last Test century against Sri Lanka in Nagpur.
In 1986-87, Mohinder Amarnath scored 89 runs against Pakistan in Madras. After that in his next eight tests against Pakistan and West Indies, he failed to score a fifty. He played his last series against West Indies in which he did nothing special with bat and ball.
He played his last test against West Indies on 11 June 1988 and last ODI on 30 October 1989 against West Indies.
Cricket Coaching
In the late 80s and early 90s, Mohinder Amarnath presented a popular weekly cricket coaching TV programme. The name of the program was Cricket with "Mohinder Amarnath'. It featured discussion with guest speakers who were mostly Indian national team members at the time. Young Sachin Tendulkar, a 15 years old, was interviewed by Amarnath for the program.
Controversies
He was not picked up by the selectors for International games in 1989. Furious Mohinder Amarnath called selectors "Bunch of Jokers'.
He criticized the inclusion of MS Dhoni as a captain of Indian team in 2012.
Records
- Mohinder Amarnath is the only Indian to be dismissed handling the ball and obstructing the field in ODIs.
- He is the second Indian with most ducks in a Test series.
- Only Indian to have been "Man of the Match" in both semi final and the final of the same World Cup.
Awards, Achievements and Honours
- In 1982 , he won Arjuna Award.
- Fiery fast bowlers Imran Khan of Pakistan and Malcolm Marshall of West Indies have praised his batsmanship.
- In his book "Idols", Indian legend Sunil Gavaskar described Mohinder Amarnath as the finest batsman in the world.
- In 2009, he won C.K. Naidu Lifetime Achievement Award.
