Yashpal Sharma told me they would suspend me" - Former India opener's huge claim on playing cricket months after father's death

Former India opener Navjot Singh Sidhu opened up on his experience of having played cricket months after his father's death. On a podcast with Padamjeet Sehrawat, he revealed how he was once told he would be suspended.

Navjot Singh Sidhu was asked to play in the Sheesh Mahal tournament four months after his father's death. He initially did not agree, but eventually got ready to play. Before the tournament, he had been called to play for the State Bank of India (SBI) two months earlier. However, he did not get a game.

Former India batter and 1983 World Cup winner Yashpal Sharma, who was leading SBI in the Sheesh Mahal tournament. Coincidentally, Sidhu's first game in the tournament was against SBI, before which Yashpal Sharma had told him that he would be suspended if he played.

"Four months after my father's death, I got a call to play for Sahara in a tournament. I told I was not in the mental frame. But they told me I would get 2000 to 2500. That was a big thing during that time. So I went. Two months before this the SBI guys had called me. This was before my father's death. I went. I don't know what I did but with great difficulty I got there and then they told me I was not playing. My dad told me you should never play for them ever again," he said. (12:44)

"The first match in the Sheesh Mahal tournament (for Sahara) was against SBI. Yashpal Sharma came to me and told me they would suspend me. They told me I could not play. I told I will play and they can suspend me or do whatever. In the very first over, Roger Binny came to bowl at me, the very first ball I hit him over the screen. The total team score was 140 in 20 overs. 111 runs were mine. In seven matches, I scored seven hundreds," he added.

Notably, Sidhu had a long domestic career. The former India batter played 157 first-class matches and amassed 9571 runs at an average of 44.31. He made his international debut in 1983. Sidhu last played international cricket in 1999.

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Navjot Singh Sidhu on his conversation with Shah Rukh Khan and first World Cup for India

Navjot Singh Sidhu also revealed having met Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan during the Sheesh Mahal tournament. He recalled how Shah Rukh Khan had expressed that he wanted to be a Bollywood actor.

"I met Shah Rukh Khan as were there. He told he wanted to go to Bollywood. I told him you need someone there to push you forward. He told me he would manage. I told him there would be cutthroat competition and they'll eat you like a sausage for breakfast. He is such a polite person; he was the same back then, too. He told me I don't compete with anyone; my competition is with myself," he said. (16:43)

Sidhu was inspired by the same and then went on to reveal how he was named in India's World Cup squad and performed well there. It was the 1987 World Cup, where he had a strong showing with four half-centuries. Interestingly, he was not a part of the playing 11 for the first game, but got the opportunity at the last minute to replace Kris Srikkanth.

Sidhu played 51 Tests and 136 ODIs in his international career for India. He made 3202 Test runs and 4413 ODI runs.