India squad for the Rothmans Asia Cup at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium. (Photo Source:Patrick Eagar/Popperfoto via Getty Images)
Asia Cup 2023 will be back in August this year in the One-Day International (ODI) format. So far, India have won the most titles (seven) in the continental tournament. In 1984, when the tournament’s inaugural edition was played in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), India lifted the coveted trophy under Sunil Gavaskar, beating Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
In the first Asia Cup installment, only three games were played among three Asian giants and India won their both games comfortably by convincing margins. Playing their first game against Sri Lanka, India registered a huge 10-wicket victory while against the arch-rivals Pakistan, Gavaskar and his men got a 54-run triumph. After 39 years of the scintillating win, it would be interesting to know where are the heroes of the first Asia Cup victory.
Discussing it more, here are the first Asia Cup champions, let’s have a look at what they’re doing
1. Sunil Gavaskar (c)
Sunil Gavaskar. (Photo Source: Twitter)
Sunil Gavaskar captained India in the inaugural Asia Cup installment and under him, the team played confident cricket and won the competition. In the tournament, Gavaskar came to bat against Pakistan and went back to the pavilion with his unbeaten 36-run knock.
Following the 1987 World Cup, Gavaskar bid farewell to international cricket. The semi-final game between India and England at the Wankhede stadium became the last game of his international career. Following his retirement, he started serving the sport as a cricket commentator.
Along with being a cricket commentator, he also shows up on TV news channels as a cricket expert. The former India batter also writes columns for news publication houses. After his retirement, Gavaskar also broke into the Marathi film industry, playing the lead role in his movie “Savli Premachi.” The movie didn’t do well at the box office. Along with acting, he also wrote a song “Ya Duniyemadhye Thambayaala Vel Konala.”
2. Surinder Khanna (wk)
Surinder Khanna (Photo Source: K.R. Nayar)
Surinder Khanna played an essential role in India’s victory in the 1984 Asia Cup victory. He did his job efficiently for the side as a wicketkeeper and batter. With the bat, he hit a couple of fifties and ended up becoming the highest run-scorer in the competition with 107 runs in two games at a strike rate of 75.88.
His incredible batting efforts also got him the Player of the Series award at the end of the competition. Khanna didn’t get much success in his international career as he could play only 10 matches for India, however, he did well for Delhi in domestic cricket, scoring more than 6500 runs in 151 matches.
After the 1987-88 Ranji Trophy, he hung up his boots, and between the 1991 and 1992 seasons, he joined Stewart’s Melville Royal High Cricket Club in Edinburgh. In the 1991 installment, he racked up 1098 runs at an impressive average of 91.5. Surinder currently provides services to media publication houses as a cricket expert.
3. Ghulam Parkar
Ghulam Parkar (Photo Source: Twitter)
Ghulam Parkar represented India as an opener in 11 international matches from 1982-84. In the 1984 Asia Cup, he became the second-leading run-getter for India in the competition, scoring 54 runs in two games. His last appearance in international cricket was against Pakistan in Sialkot.
After the 1984 Pakistan tour, he couldn’t make it to the Indian team again. After the 1985-86 domestic season, he retired from all forms of cricket, scoring more than 5000 runs in 107 domestic outings for Mumbai. In the Ranji Trophy, he accumulated 3087 runs at an average of 49.79.
Parkar stays away from the media limelight and lives life with his family in Mumbai. The former India opener is often celebrated by Mumbai Cricket Association as he made some extraordinary contributions to the Mumbai cricket team in his eight-year domestic career.
4. Dilip Vengsarkar
Dilip Vengsarkar. (Photo Source: Twitter)
Dilip Vengsarkar was one of the heroes of India’s superb Asia Cup win. In the tournament, he didn’t get a chance to bat against Sri Lanka as openers Surinder Khanna and Ghulam Parkar took the game home with their spunky batting. Against Pakistan, he came out to bat at number three and scored 14 runs in the match.
Vengsarkar gave his services to the Indian cricket team until 1992. He had an amazing international career, scoring more than 10000 runs in 245 matches. In 2003, he became the vice-president of the Mumbai Cricket Association. Vengsarkar became the chairman of the national selection committee for the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in September 2006.
Nowadays, he runs cricket academies in Mumbai and Pune to produce cricketing talents for the nation. In 2014, he also became the recipient of the C.K. Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award for his amazing contribution to Indian cricket.
5. Sandeep Patil
Sandeep Patil (Photo by Vipin Kumar/Hindustan Times via Getty Images)
Sandeep Patil was a part of India’s 1984 Asia Cup winning squad. He played a crucial role with his bat in India’s 54-run win against Pakistan. After the fall of two wickets, Patil stepped up and contributed 43 runs to his side off just 50 deliveries to help his team put 188 runs on the board.
After this continental tournament, Patil played for India for two more years, until 1986. Patil served the Madhya Pradesh Cricket Team until 1993 in the domestic circuit. Following his retirement, he also coached India A side and Kenya cricket team. Under his coaching, Kenya qualified for the semi-finals in the 2003 World Cup.
From September 2012 to September 2016, he also held the job of chairman of selectors of the BCCI. Currently, he is a part of the cricket expert panel of a renowned Indian news channel.
6. Ravi Shastri
Ravi Shastri. (Photo Source: Visionhaus/Getty Images)
Ravi Shastri was a key member of India’s first Asia Cup team. Shastri didn’t get a chance to contribute runs from his bat in the competition but with the ball, he produced fire. Shastri took four wickets in two games of the competition at an impressive economy of 3.11. Against Pakistan, he bowled an impressive spell of 10 overs and hunted three batters at an economy of 4.00.
In 1993, Shastri took retirement at the age of 31 due to a persistent knee injury. He kicked off his new innings in the sport in 1995 as a commentator. The former India all-rounder got appointed as the interim Indian cricket team coach in 2007 for the Bangladesh tour. From 2017-21, he coached the Indian cricket team and under his leadership, the team achieved unprecedented success.
After the 2021 T20 World Cup, he stepped down from the post and now, he is back into commentary. In the Indian Premier League (IPL), he is a vital member of the commentary panel, along with legends such as Sunil Gavaskar, Ian Botham, Simon Doull, and Danny Morrison.
7. Kirti Azad
Kirti Azad. (Photo Source: Twitter)
Kirti Azad didn’t get a chance to contribute anything from his side to the team. In the competition, India didn’t receive his services in batting as top-order and upper middle-order batters concluded India’s innings in both matches comfortably. With the ball, the captain gave him only one over and in that extremely short spell, he couldn’t scalp any wicket.
Azad remained a part of the Indian side till 1986 while he was active in first-class cricket for Delhi till the 1993-94 domestic season. After retirement, he entered politics in 1999, joining the Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP). Azad served BJP till 2019 and currently, he is a part of the All India Trinamool Congress (AITMC).
Along with politics, Azad is also a social worker. During the early 2000s, he also did Hindi commentary in India matches. Azad is a vocal critic of the BCCI and during the IPL match-fixing scandal of 2012, Azad displayed his anger and demanded a ban on the league.
8. Roger Binny
Roger Binny. (Photo Source: Twitter)
Roger Binny was an excellent bowler of his time. In the 1984 Asia Cup, he served India efficiently with the ball. Playing the match against Pakistan in the continental competition, he partnered with Ravi Shastri and destroyed Pakistan’s batting line-up, picking up 3/33 figures in his 9.4-over spell.
Binny succeeded in maintaining his spot in the Indian team till 1987 but after the Chennai ODI against Australia, the 1983 World Cup didn’t feature in international cricket again. He took retirement from domestic cricket after the 1991-92 season. In the 2000 Under-19 Cricket World Cup, Binny coached the Indian team that went on to become champions under Mohammad Kaif.
In September 2012, Binny got appointed as a national selector of BCCI and went on to serve the board until 2015. In October 2022, he succeeded Sourav Ganguly as BCCI president as he got elected unopposed at the BCCI AGM (Annual General Meeting).
9. Madan Lal
Madan Lal (Photo Source: Twitter)
Madan Lal gave a perfect start to the Indian team in the 1984 Asia Cup triumph. He took a three-wicket haul against Sri Lanka and helped India to fold the opponents on a humiliating score of 96. Lal didn’t feature in India colours again after his 1987 ODI match against Pakistan in Hyderabad.
After retiring from competitive cricket, he coached the UAE cricket team for the 1996 World Cup in India. For a year, he also coached the Indian cricket team and during 2000-01, the former India pacer also became an integral part of the BCCI selection committee.
In 2007, he also got associated with the Indian Cricket League (ICL) as Delhi Giants (Delhi Jets) head coach. Nowadays, he provides his services as a cricket expert to India’s famous Hindi news channel.
10. Manoj Prabhakar
Manoj Prabhakar (Photo Source: Twitter)
A 20-year-old Manoj Prabhakar contributed a couple of wickets in India’s Asia Cup trophy win. Against Sri Lanka, he bowled an economical and wicket-taking spell (10-3-16-2) to help India restrict the opponents to a mere 96. Prabhakar played his last game for India in March 1996 against Sri Lanka in Delhi.
In 1996, he got charged by the BCCI for match-fixing and later got banned as well. Prabhakar also provided his services to the Delhi cricket team as a bowling coach. After serving Delhi, he also served the Rajasthan cricket team as their head coach. The Afghanistan cricket team signed him as a bowling coach for the T20 World Cup 2016 in India.
From August 2022 to December 2022, he also coached the Nepal cricket team. For a few years, Prabhakar also joined a popular news media firm as a cricket expert alongside his former Indian cricket team’s colleague Vinod Kambli.
11. Chetan Sharma
Chetan Sharma (Photo Source: Twitter)
Chetan Sharma bagged three wickets in India’s successful campaign in the 1984 Asia Cup. Against Sri Lanka, he gave a perfect start to the team dismissing opener Brendon Kuruppu, Sri Lanka skipper Duleep Mendis and Vinothen John. Riding on his disciplined bowling, the team wrapped up Sri Lanka on 96.
Chetan player for India till 1994 and following his retirement, he became a cricket commentator. He also started his pace bowling cricket academy in Haryana’s Panchkula but in 2009, it got closed. Chetan also entered politics in the 2009 Lok Sabha polls, contesting on Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) ticket. However, he lost the election.
After his failed political innings with BSP, he joined BJP and got the post of the party’s sports cell convener. From November 2020 to February 2023, he also served the Indian cricket team as chairman of the selection committee. In February 2023, Zee News performed a sting operation in which Chetan made some shocking revelations regarding Indian cricketers. Following this incident, he resigned from his post.