The government of India on Wednesday announced the Padma Awardees of 2023. Padma awards are one of the highest civilian recognitions in the country. This year, a total of 106 awards, including the Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri, have been approved by the honourable President of India. One of them is former first-class cricketer and ex-India coach Shri Gurcharan Singh.
Born in Rawalpindi in 1935, Singh came to Patiala as a refugee after India’s partition in 1947. He began his cricketing journey under the watchful eyes of Maharaja of Patiala Yadavindra Singh. He represented the teams of include Patiala, Patiala and Eastern Punjab States Union, Southern Punjab and Railways, and played 37 First-class matches before becoming a coach.
Singh’s cricketing career couldn’t flourish beyond domestic cricket. However, he is known to produce as many as 12 quality players who represented India in international cricket. His disciples include Kirti Azad, Maninder Singh, Kirti Azad, Vivek Razdan, Gursharan Singh, Ajay Jadeja, Rahul Sanghvi and Murali Kartik.
Gurcharan Singh obtained a coaching diploma from the National Institute of Sports in Patiala and then joined the Sports Authority of India centre in New Delhi as the head coach. His notable coaching stints include his tenure with North Zone between 1977 and 1983, as Maldives’ head coach in 1985 and as the coach of the Indian cricket team from 1986 to 1987.
In 1992-93, he joined the Pace Bowling Academy as the director. The academy was jointly started by the Laxmibhai National College of Physical Education and the BCCI in Gwalior.
He bagged the Dronacharya Award in the year 1987, becoming only the second cricket coach after Desh Prem Azad to receive India’s highest sports coaching honour.
Gurcharan Singh’s First-class stats:
Matches: 37
Runs: 1198
Average: 19.96
100s: 1
Wickets: 44
Best Bowling Figures: 4/20
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