Mohinder Amarnath stepped into the cricketing world as a medium pace bowler but eventually emerged as one of the finest batsmen India produced. Belonging to a sportsman family, cricket was in his blood. He owns the title of “Comeback King” because of a glorified career which had its own highs and lows.
Personal Biography
| Name | Mohinder Jain Bhardwaj | ||
| Nickname | Amarnath, Jimmy | ||
| Born | 24-09-1950 (Age 66) |
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| Birth Place | Patiala, Punjab, India | ||
| Batting Style | Right Hand Bat | ||
| Bowling Style | Right Arm Medium | ||
Career Graph |
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| National Side | India | ||
| ODI Debut | Jun 07, 1975 vs. England at Lords | ||
| Test Debut | Dec 24, 1969, vs. Australia at MA Chidambaram Stadium | ||
| Last ODI | Oct 30, 1989, vs. West Indies at Wankhede Stadium | ||
| Last Test | Jan 11, 1988, vs. West Indies at MA Chidambaram Stadium |
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Performance Analysis |
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| Competition | Tests | ODIs | |
| Matches | 69 | 85 | |
| Runs scored | 4,378 | 1,924 | |
| Batting average | 42.5 | 30.53 | |
| 100s/50s | Nov-24 | 2/13 | |
| Top score | 138 | 102* | |
| Balls bowled | 3676 | 2730 | |
| Wickets | 32 | 46 | |
| Bowling average | 55.68 | 42.84 | |
| Five wickets in innings | 0 | 0 | |
| Ten wickets in match | 0 | 0 | |
| Best Bowling | 4/63 | 3/12 | |
Family |
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| Father | Lala Amarnath | ||
| Mother | Kailash Kumari | ||
| Brothers | Surinder Amarnath, Rajinder Amarnath | ||
| Wife | Inderjit Amarnath | ||
Overall career
His career was a constant tale of being in and out of the team. He had a struggling phase to get into the national team, being dropped quite often, again forcing selectors to include him by proving his mettle. Being a top class batsman, he batted at No 3. His batsmanship, endurance, and courage were also lauded by his opponents like Imran Khan (Pakistan) and Malcolm Marshall ( West Indies).
Accolades
Sunil Gavaskar has described Mohinder Amarnath as one of the finest batsmen in the world in the book penned by him named “Idols.”
Similarly, Imran Khan declared him as the best batsman of the 1982-83 seasons in his book “All round Review”.
He achieved the Man of the Match title in the 1983 World Cup semi-finals and finals as well as the Man of the Series for the entire tournament.
He has also received the prestigious Arjuna Award in the year 1982.
Family
His father Lala Amarnath was a legendary cricketer and also the first captain of Indian team post independence. His brother Surinder and Rajinder were cricket players as well. His nephew Digvijay ( Surinder Amarnath’s son) was inclined towards football and plays for Badureliya Sports Club.
Post Retirement
After retirement, he tried his hands on coaching the young Bangladesh team but was not successful in doing so as the team performed miserably. He was also in the panel of the national selectors and was handling the north zone selection.
Facts to Know
- He used to carry a red handkerchief in his pocket while batting which signified his superstitions.
- He is the first and only Indian batsman to be dismissed for obstructing the field in ODI.
He played a cameo in the Bollywood movie “Dishoom”.
