‘Distressed & disturbed’, 1983 World Cup heroes back grappler | India News – Times of India

Members of the Kapil Dev-led 1983 World Cup winning team on Friday extended support to the protesting grapplers, saying they were “distressed and disturbed at the unseemly visuals of our champion wrestlers being manhandled” by police on May 28. They urged the wrestlers to not dump their hard-earned medals.
However, BCCI president Roger Binny distanced himself from the statement. “I believe the competent authorities are working to resolve the issue. As a former cricketer, I believe sports should not be mixed with politics,” Binny told PTI.
The Kapil Dev-led 1983 World Cup winning team backing the protesting wrestlers assumes significance as it comes at a time when no active Indian cricketer has so far commented on the controversy.

Urging the wrestlers not to immerse their medals in the Ganga in protest, the former cricketers said, “We urge them not to take any hasty decision in this matter. Those medals have involved years of effort, sacrifice, determination and grit and are not only their own but the nation’s pride and joy. We… fervently hope their grievances are heard and resolved quickly. Let the law of the land prevail.”

Sunil Gavaskar, Mohinder Amarnath, Krishnamachari Srikanth, Syed Kirmani, Yashpal Sharma, Madan Lal, Balwinder Singh Sandhu, Sandeep Patil and Kirti Azad were among those who released the statement.