When late cricketer Yashpal Sharma spoke about Dilip Kumar's contribution to his career

India's 1983 World Cup hero Yashpal Sharma, who was admired for being a gutsy middle-order batsman at the peak of his prowess, died on Tuesday after suffering a massive cardiac arrest. He was 66 and is survived by his wife, two daughters and a son. Yashpal is the second celebrity after Dilip Kumar who passed away recently. But did you know that both Dilip and Yashpal had an interesting connect between them and it was revealed by the matter in a recent interview? Paying condolences after the death of Dilip, Yashpal had revealed he had played a crucial part in his career. Yashpal had told, 'He (Dilip Kumar) was like my father. I am very saddened to hear the news of his passing.' He added, 'In fact, Yusuf (Khan) Bhai (Dilip Kumar’s real name) changed my life by uplifting my career. In the 1974-75 domestic season, he had come to the Mohan Nagar Ground in Delhi to watch the Punjab v UP Ranji knockout match. I had scored a hundred in both innings for Punjab and during our second innings, I noticed that some prominent personality had come in a car and was watching the match from a special seating area. I thought he must have been some top politician.' Furthermore, he said, 'Later, Yusuf Bhai invited me for a chat and congratulated me for my century. ‘You have played an excellent game, I will recommend your name to someone,’ were his words. The next day, my photograph appeared alongside Yusuf Bhai in the newspapers and I was stunned. Only later did I get to know that Yusif Bhai went on to recommend me to the late Raj Singh Dungarpur, who was a prominent cricket administrator. Yusuf Bhai told Raj Singhji that I deserved to play for the country and my life was transformed thereafter.' Meanwhile, in his international career, Yashpal played 37 Tests, scoring 1606 runs, and 42 ODIs in which he made 883. He also picked up one wicket each in the two formats to his credit.