The player who took a hat-trick in the World Cup, how he turned from hero to villain on the last ball of the final

Chetan Sharma Birthday: Famous Indian cricket player and former selector Chetan Sharma is celebrating his 59th birthday today. He was born on 3 January 1966 in Ludhiana, Punjab. Chetan Sharma is one of those players who started playing international cricket for India at a very young age. His name is recorded in the list of youngest international cricketers of India and he impressed everyone with his game at an early age.

International debut at the age of 17

Chetan Sharma played ODI cricket for India in 1983 at the age of just 17 and made his Test cricket debut a year later in 1984. Chetan, who made his debut in Test cricket at the age of just 18, is one of the few players who represented the national team at such a young age. Right from the beginning of his career, he gave many memorable moments to Team India with his bowling ability and game understanding.

Chetan Sharma’s name is recorded in Lord’s Honor Board

In 1986, Chetan Sharma’s name was registered on the honor board of Lord’s, known as the Mecca of cricket. In this match, he took 5 wickets against host England, which is one of the important achievements of his career.

All three bowlers were clean bowled in the hat-trick.

Apart from this, in the World Cup, Chetan Sharma created history and achieved a hat-trick by clean bowling New Zealand’s Ken Rutherford, Ian Smith and Ewen Chatfield in three consecutive balls in India’s final group match. This hat-trick was especially memorable because all three batsmen were clean bowled in the same format.

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Had become a villain from a hero

Although Chetan Sharma’s career was filled with many great moments, his name is associated with a bit of disappointment in the 1986 Australia-Asia Cup final. Pakistan needed only 4 runs on the last ball and Javed Miandad hit a six on Chetan’s last full toss, thereby winning the match. After this incident, Indian fans temporarily considered him a “villain”.

Chetan Sharma’s career

Chetan Sharma played a total of 23 Test and 65 ODI matches for India. Took 61 and 67 wickets in Test and ODI respectively. As an all-rounder, he scored 396 and 456 runs respectively. His best bowling performance in Test cricket was 10 wickets for 188 runs. Chetan Sharma is remembered not only for his game but also as a selector and commentator for India. His contribution as Chief Selector of Team India was important for Indian cricket. His thinking and experience proved helpful in giving direction to the careers of many young players.