Who is PR Man Singh? Here are 5 interesting facts about India’s team manager in 1983 World Cup

83 is a movie that allowed people to relive when India lifted the 1983 World Cup. The film has all the aspects you might need in a great film. The scenes, the songs, and the entire experience of this movie will stay with you even after you leave the theatre.

The movie is not about a particular character or a person. It’s about the team, including PR Man Singh, the squad’s team manager. The film is about the Indian team that went to England as nobody, defeated the mighty West Indies in the final, and returned home with the World Cup. Beating West Indies was not a small task as the team had some of the heavyweights of that era.

Also, the Indian team could make only 183 runs while batting first in the final. The West Indies would have chased targets like these on any given day, but June 25th, 1983, was surely not that day. Indian bowlers bundled up the entire West Indies batting unit for a score of just 140 runs.

The movie will give you a bit of every individual who was there during this dream run. The film also highlights the role of team manager PR Man Singh in India’s triumph over the world. Ranveer Singh, who plays the role of Kapil Dev in the movie, posted this on Instagram:

 

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Here are 5 Interesting facts about the Indian Team Manager of 1983 World Cup PR Man Singh Cricket:

1. Man Singh was a former cricketer for Hyderabad

Man Singh played five First-class matches for Hyderabad from 1965 to 1969. During an interview with Wisden, he mentioned how his father played a key role in picking cricket.

“My father took me to watch cricket when I was young, but I started playing seriously only when I got to college,” Man Singh said.

2. Had an interest in administration since he was in the University

Man Singh didn’t get to play many matches for Hyderabad, and during most of his career, he was there on the bench. But, he had a knack for administration and helped his University organize tournaments.

“When I was playing university tournaments, I was doing a bit of what you can term as ‘administration’, but back then it was just organizing, say, something like a visit of the Osmania University to local friendly matches, look after the team locally, and all that,” he had told Wisden.

3. PR Man Singh served as the secretary of Hyderabad Cricket Association

Ghulam Ahmed, who played 22 Test matches for India was the head of the Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA), observed Man Singh and asked him to join him as his second-in-command. When Ahmed became the secretary of the BCCI, Man Singh became the head of HCA.

He was in the chair until 1978 when he became the assistant manager of the Indian team. Speaking on how he got this role, Man Singh said:

“The Indian team’s tour to Pakistan in 1978 was the first in almost 20 years, and it was more of a political tour, with cricket being used only as an excuse. It was decided that the manager for that Indian team should be a politician, and, within days, the responsibility was handed to the Maharaja of Baroda. He accepted it, but said, ‘If I have to go on this tour, Man Singh will be my deputy’. That’s how I became his assistant on that trip.”

4. PR Man Singh appointed Kapil Dev as captain of the Indian team

Man Singh didn’t just serve the Indian team as the manager; he was also a part of the six-member selection committee. This committee appointed Kapil Dev as the captain of the Indian team.

5. Agony and Ecstasy

He wrote his memoir called ‘Agony and Ecstasy,’ which had a couple of stories related to the Indian team and more details about his travels and experience. Man Singh remained the manager until the 1987 World Cup.