India
Born on 24 September 1950 at Patiala in Punjab. A right-handed batsman of class and a useful military medium pace bowler, he is known as the 'Comeback Man' of Indian cricket. During his two decades at the top, he was dropped from the Indian side on several occasions and every time he fought his way back with sterling performances. Son of the legendary Lala Amarnath, his brother, Surinder also played for India.
'Jimmy', as he is better known, made his test debut as a bowler-batsman against the Australians of 1969-70 at Madras. He then went into cold storage before reappearing in the Indian team on the tour of New Zealand and West Indies in 1975-76. After some sterling performances, he failed against England at home, but rediscovered his form on the Australian tour of 1977-78. In the 1978-79 series at home against the West Indies, his good form continued, but on the tour of England, later, he injured his back and then was hit on the head by a bouncer which kept him out of the Indian team for three years. He went on the 1982-83 tour to Pakistan and did well, and again batted like a champion in the West Indies. That season, he scored 2,355 runs. His exploits in the '83World Cup triumph are now legend, but he failed miserably against the West Indies on their tour of India in 1984. He was nominated Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1984. He regained his form against the Australians in 1985-86 and continued his good performances in England later that year. His last hundred, against the Sri Lankans in 1987, helped India win the test, but he was left out of the Indian team for the 1987 World Cup. He failed in his last series against the West Indies in 1987-88 and faded out of cricket after playing in the 1989-90 Nehru Cup matches.
Mohinder Amarnath played 69 tests scoring 4,378 runs at an average of 42.50 with 11 hundreds and 24 fifties, and claimed 32 wickets at 55.68 apiece. In 85 one-day internationals, he scored 1,924 runs at an average of 30.53 and a highest score of 102 n.o. and claimed 46 wickets at 42.84 apiece.
Soft spoken and a gentleman to the core, he once called the Indian selectors a 'bunch of jokers' after being dropped from the Indian team for the umpteenth time. A man with tremendous respect for his father, the late Lala, he carried a red handkerchief in his pocket, like his father did, for luck. He even wore a 'Sola Hat' to face pace bowlers on the advise of his father after being troubled by bouncers through the early eighties.