Over the years, Indian cricket has witnessed several legendary players come up the ranks through their raw potential and evolved into celebrated figures in the country. From legendary batters like Sachin Tendulkar to Virender Sehwag and from World Cup-winning captain MS Dhoni to superstar Virat Kohli, all the aforementioned cricketers have created numerous records. Other than being legendary, those cricketers also have one common trait and that is following some kind of superstition.
On the same lines, Mohinder Amarnath, who was part of the 1983 World Cup-winning team, was also known for being superstitious. The former India star all-rounder, who won several matches for India by performing tremendously with the bat and ball, used to carry a red handkerchief in his pocket.
Hero of the 1983 World Cup final
Team India played the 1983 World Cup final against West Indies at the iconic Lord's cricket ground in England under Kapil Dev's captaincy. India pulled off a major upset and emerged champions at a time when no one gave them a chance to achieve anything substantial in that competition. Mohinder Amarnath excelled for India in the final, first with the bat and then with the ball in hand. He scored 26 runs with the bat and registered figures of 3/12 in seven overs with the ball. For his all-round performance, he was awarded the Man of the Match.
The story of red handkerchief
Whenever Mohinder Amarnath stepped onto the field, he always carried a red handkerchief in his pocket. The former Indian all-rounder revealed the story behind his superstition a couple of years ago.
"All the cricketers are superstitious," Mohinder Amarnath had said on The Kapil Sharma Show.
"In my case, it was that my father (Lala Amarnath) was a very big player of his time. However, I had never seen him play. I listened to them, very much. I was told that he used to keep a red handkerchief when he played. It was my dream, the ambition that I wanted to be like him. But I didn’t have as much talent as he had.
"I thought what is the thing that can help me? So when I started playing, I started keeping that red handkerchief. Whenever I kept, I got a lot of success," he had said.
International career
During his playing days, Mohinder Amarnath orchestrated several memorable wins for Team India. In the 1983 World Cup, he bagged the Man of the Match award in the semi-final and final. Former Pakistan captain Imran Khan used to consider Mohinder Amarnath as the greatest batter.
In a glittering career spanning over two decades, Mohinder Amarnath played 154 international matches for India, scoring more than 6,302 runs in the process. He played 69 Test matches and scored 4,378 runs in the process at an average of 42.5. In 85 ODIs, the right-handed batter scored 1,924 runs at an average of 30.5. He also accounted for 32 wickets in Tests and 46 wickets in ODIs.