PR Man Singh Wiki, Height, Age, Wife, Biography & More

PR Man Singh is a former Indian cricketer who was also the manager of the Indian cricket team during the 1983 and 1987 World Cups. Under his tenure, Kapil Dev was selected as the captain of the Indian cricket team who went to win their maiden World Cup title in June 1983.

Wiki/Biography

PR Man Singh was born in 1933/34 in Secunderabad, Telangana. He played domestic cricket from 1965 to 1969 for the Hyderabad team in Ranji Trophy and Moin-ud-Dowlah Gold Cup Tournament. In 1978, he was appointed as the deputy manager for the India tour of Pakistan. Later, in 1983 World Cup, he was appointed as the manager of the Indian team that went on to win the World Cup title. He remained the team’s manager till the 1987 Cricket World Cup.

Physical Appearance

Height (approx.): 5′ 5″

Hair Colour: Bald

Eye Colour: Dark Brown

Family

Wife

Not Known

Address

PR Man Singh resides in Karkhana, Secunderabad, Telangana.

Career

During his cricket career, he was a right-handed batter and a right-handed off-break bowler. He has played five first-class games for his Ranji team Hyderabad and Hyderabad Blues in the Moin-Ud-Dowlah Gold Cup tournament between 1965 to 1969. Besides cricket, he was selected as an assistant manager for the Indian team for its tour of Pakistan in 1978. According to experts, this tour was more of a political tour than cricket. Cricket tour is just been used as an excuse. Later, it was decided that the Indian team’s manager should be a politician. This responsibility was then handed over to the Maharaja of Baroda. But Maharaja has the demand that he would be joining the Indian team as a manager only if Man Singh will be my deputy. Sharing his experience on Wisden, Man Singh told,[1]

“That’s how I became his assistant on that trip”.

Award

Commemorative crest by Bangladesh Cricket Supporters Association

Facts/Trivia

• After India won the 1983 World Cup, Man Singh wrote a letter to then Wisden’s editor David Frith who downplayed the Indian team and declared that he will “eat his words” if India won the tournament, reminding him of his promise. Later, in September, an edition of Wisden magazine was published where David Frith was seen eating his words with the caption
  

  “India made me eat my words”.

  

  David Frith kept his promise and published a photo of himself eating the words

• Man Singh has a wide collection of hundred of books, ties, and bats which, he has assembled since the 1950s in his house. This house was inaugurated by Sachin Tendulkar in 2003 which was named as “Pavillion”.
  

  1983 World Cup medal in his house

• He was part of the six-member selection committee that appointed Kapil Dev as the captain of the tournament. During his tenure as a full-time manager of the team, he neglected several board rules to support his players. He allowed four of its players to accompany their wives on the tour. Also, he allowed them to take their wives on the tour. He also allowed them to take with them by bus when going outside London. PR Man Singh recalls that time by saying that [2]
  

  “We had four players with their wives and I gave them permission to stay in the hotel. I also allowed them to travel on the team bus when going to venues out of London. This was unthinkable then. Good the Board today allows the players to bring their families for some time.”

  

  Man Singh lifting the 1983 World Cup along with the Indian team

  

  PR Man Singh with a 1983 World Cup Indian team poster

• Former Indian cricketer Bishan Singh Bedi wrote in Man Singh’s book ‘Agony and Ecstasy’ that
  

  “Honestly, I cannot think of another Indian who is so thickly involved with cricket globally and his personal museum at his residence is ample testimony to his cricket-crazy intensity. He is the warmest cricket person, through and through.”

  

  PR Man Singh’s book

• Man Singh once revoked the myth about stopping of coverage between India and Zimbabwe during the 1983 World Cup due to BBC’s strike. He said,
  

  “Just because BBC were on strike, the India-Zimbabwe match was not telecast is wrong. That match had no significance. BBC was only concentrating on matches where West Indies, Pakistan, England, and Australia were involved. It was played at Tunbridge Wells – that is the only international played at the venue till date. If it was not telecast, I am not surprised. Let’s not blame the BBC. It became big because we were 17-5 and suddenly Kapil went and made 175 and we won the match.”

• The first book he bought was ‘End of an Inning by “Dennis Compton”. This book was published in 1950 in Bangalore (now Bengaluru). He also has huge collections of ties, mementos, flags, cufflinks, autographed miniature bats, and several video cassettes which are now been converted to DVDs.
  

  PR Man Singh’s cricket collection in his house

• A Bollywood movie named ’83’ was released on 24 December 2021 where Pankaj Tripathi has portrayed the role of PR Man Singh.
  

  Pankaj Tripathi as PR Man Singh