Former Indian cricketer and 1983 World Cup winning team member Yashpal Sharma has passed away.

The explosive middle-order batsman of his times, breathed his last on Tuesday morning, after he suffered a massive cardiac arrest.

Yashpal Sharma was 66 years old at the time of his demise.

Yashpal Sharma is survived by his wife and two daughters.

He played a pivotal role in India becoming world champions. He scored 240 runs at an average of 34.28 in the tournament.

His gutsy-knock of 61 against England in the semi-finals of the 1983 World Cup was one of his finest.

After he retired from the game, he became an umpire for a time, and has also been a selector for the Indian national team.

He was India’s national cricket selector from 2003 to 2006. During this tumultuous period of Indian cricket, he supported Indian cricket captain Sourav Ganguly over the coach Greg Chappell and was also ousted from selection committee in 2005.

Sharma again became selector for national team in 2008. He later served as the coach for Uttar Pradesh Ranji Team.

Meanwhile, the cricketing fraternity mourned the sudden demise of Yashpal Sharma.