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A key member of India’s 1983 World Cup winnings side, Balwinder Singh Sandhu’s international career lasted around two years. A skillful right-arm medium pacer that could swing the ball both ways, Sandhu was also skilled enough to contributete with the bat. Born in Mumbai in 1956, DSandhu was a late starter into cricket, being spotted during a local summer camp and later coming under the tutelage of the legendary Ramakant Achrekar, who has coached multiple stars of the Indian cricket fraternity, including the talismanic Sachin Tendulkar.
Sandhu made his first first-class appearance in the 1980-81 season, where he made his debut for Bombay against Gujarat after opening bowler Karsan Ghavri was away with the national side. Sandhu picked up nine wickets and was drafted into the side for the Ranji Trophy final against Delhi, where his spell left the capital team reeling at 18 for 5, with Sandhu finishing with nine wickets in the match. He took 25 wickets in the season, which came at an average of 18.72. In the early portion of 1982, playing for West Zone, Sandhu picked up eight wickets and scored 56 batting at number 11 against South Zone, with a subsequent five-wciket haul in the Irani Trophy putting him on the radar for the Indian team.
Sandhu made his Test debut against Paksitan in Karachi, where he picked up two wickets and scored a valiant 71 in the first innings with the bat, in a game where Mudassar Nazar and Javed Miandad put on a world-record 451-run partnership. He then scored another valiant 68 against the West Indies on a Kingson track where the quartet of Andy Roberts, Joel Garner, Michael Holding and Malcolm Marshall were breathing fire.
Sandhu, who had made his ODI debut in late 1982, became a keyt member of the squad heading into the 1983 World Cup. In the tournament, Sandhu picked up eight wickets in eight matches as one of the frontline seamers of the squad. His best figures of 2 for 26 came against Australia in India’s last group-stage game, which was a must-win clash if the team were to make the semifinals.
Sandhu was one of the key contributors in the final against the West Indies, stitching a 26-run partnership with Syed Kirmani for the last wicket to propel India to 183, before producing a moment of magic to have the dangerous Gordon Greenidge bowled with an inswinger, opening the floodgates for India’s bowlers. Sandhu finished with figures of 2 for 32 from nine overs as India created history with a 43-run win, changing the trajectory of how the sport had been seen in the country.
A drop in form saw him play just a handful of matches after the World Cup across formats. Sandhu made his last appearance for India in October 1984, after which he played two more years of Ranji Trophy cricket before calling time on his career. After his playing career came to an end, Sandhu was later involved in coaching roles with Mumbai and Punjab respectively.
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