1983 World Cup nostalgia grips President Pranab Mukherjee

NEW DELHI: Former Indian pacer Madan Lal may have got effusive praise throughout his career but on Saturday, 32 years after India won its first cricket World Cup title in 1983, the bowler got a big “Thank You” from none other than President Pranab Mukherjee.

“I thank you once again for that over (in the ‘83 final match) in which Viv Richards got out… Otherwise we would have lost. It was the turning point of the final,” Mukherjee, known for his razor-sharp memory, told Madan Lal who had come to gift him a book on cricket. PRESIDENT PRANAB MUKHERJEE, thanking cricketer Madan Lal

Mukherjee also remarked that along with Indian culture, cricket too had become helpful in improving bilateral ties. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had wished his four SAARC counterparts of nations playing the tournament, on Friday.

The President received Cricket World Cup: The Indian Challenge written by London-based cricket writer Ashish Ray. The author, along with former cricket legend Madan Lal, met President Mukherjee to present him a copy of the book. Though he is not sure how he will manage to watch the World Cup this time, Mukherjee remembered how then prime minister Indira Gandhi had asked him to stop work and watch the final in 1983.