Mohinder Amarnathਮੋਹਿੰਦਰ ਅਮਰਨਾਥ

Early life

Mohinder Amarnath Bhardwaj was born on 24 September 1950 in Patiala, Punjab, into the most famous cricketing family in the country. His father, Lala Amarnath, had been independent India's first Test captain. Cricket ran through the household: elder brother Surinder played Tests for India, and younger brother Rajinder played first-class cricket. The family moved to Delhi, where Mohinder studied at MB High School on Mandir Marg and later at SGTB Khalsa College, Delhi University.

First steps in international cricket

Amarnath began as a quick-bowling all-rounder. He made his Test debut against Australia at Chennai in December 1969, but the start was a disappointment, and after that debut series he had to wait until 1975 to get back into the Indian side — a six-year gap that set the pattern of his career. He played for Punjab until 1974, then moved to Delhi, where he spent the bulk of his Ranji Trophy years. His game kept reinventing itself: the bowler became a top-order batsman who usually occupied No. 3 for India, playing both attacking and defensive innings. He was also a skilful change bowler, sending down swingers and cutters with a distinctive run-up in which he slowed down as he reached the crease.

The golden season of 1982–83

In the winter of 1982–83, Amarnath produced one of the great seasons by any Indian batsman. Across 11 away Tests in Pakistan and the West Indies, he scored more than 1,000 runs against some of the most hostile fast bowling ever assembled — Imran Khan and Sarfraz Nawaz in Pakistan; Marshall, Holding, Roberts, Garner and the rest in the Caribbean. In Pakistan he was jointly named Man of the Series with Imran Khan, the only Indian batsman to stand up in a series India lost 3–0. Imran wrote in his book All Round View that in that season Amarnath was quite simply the best batsman in the world. Sunil Gavaskar went further still: in his book Idols he called him the finest batsman in the world. His first Test century, at the WACA in Perth against Jeff Thomson at his fastest, had already shown what he was made of.

The 1983 World Cup

That season's form carried into the 1983 World Cup, where Amarnath became the story of India's triumph. In the semi-final against England he took the wickets of David Gower and Mike Gatting for just 27 runs in 12 overs, then scored 46 to anchor the chase. In the final at Lord's against the mighty West Indies, he played the innings India needed: 26 runs from 80 balls against Marshall, Holding, Roberts and Garner, occupying the crease longer than anyone and giving Srikkanth and the others room to score in a total of 183. With the ball he was India's most economical bowler, taking 3 for 12 in 7 overs — including the final wicket of Michael Holding — as West Indies were bowled out for 140 and India won by 43 runs. Man of the Match in the semi-final and again in the final: no one had ever done that in a World Cup before. As vice-captain, he lifted the trophy alongside Kapil Dev.

The Comeback Man

If 1983 was the summit, what followed showed the man. Months after the World Cup, a home series against the West Indies restricted him to a single run in six innings, and he was dropped again. It was the story of his career: dropped and recalled, yet always fighting his way back with weight of domestic runs. Cricket began calling him the Comeback Man. Nobody questioned his courage. Against the fastest bowling of his era he never stopped hooking. A bouncer from Richard Hadlee left him with a hairline fracture of the skull; Imran Khan knocked him unconscious; Malcolm Marshall knocked out his teeth; Jeff Thomson hit him in the jaw so hard he could eat only ice cream for lunch. Michael Holding later praised his extraordinary ability to withstand pain. He also became the only cricketer dismissed both handling the ball and obstructing the field in one-day internationals, and famously batted with a red handkerchief in his trouser pocket.

Later years

Amarnath's international career ended with a Test against the West Indies in January 1988 and an ODI in October 1989. His numbers: 69 Tests, 4,378 runs at 42.50 with 11 centuries and 24 fifties, plus 32 wickets; 85 ODIs, 1,924 runs at 30.53 with 46 wickets. He won the Arjuna Award (1982), was named one of Wisden's Cricketers of the Year (1984), and received the C. K. Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award (2009). After retirement he coached Bangladesh, Rajasthan and Morocco, presented the popular Doordarshan coaching show Cricket with Mohinder Amarnath, and worked as a cricket analyst. In the 2021 film 83, based on India's World Cup win, he played his own father Lala Amarnath. He is married to Inderjit Amarnath, and they have a daughter.