83 poster: R Badree plays Sunil Valson, the support system of team India 

Actor R Badree will be playing the character of India’s left arm medium pacer Sunil Valson in Kabir Khan’s 83 (2020). The film is based on India’s cricket World Cup victory of 1983 where Ranveer Singh will be playing the character of India’s then captain and all-rounder Kapil Dev. 

Valson’s story is interesting as well as a bit tragic. He didn’t play a single match in the 1983 World Cup. But by the time he ended his career, he didn’t play a single match for India. 

Valson was in the squad of the 14-member Indian team, but couldn’t get a chance to play in the final 11 for any match. He narrowly got a chance to play against the West Indies in the league match when Roger Binny got injured. But on the day of the match, Binny passed the fitness test which sealed Valson’s chance to play what could have been his first match for India. 

Valson’s dream of playing for India somewhat came true years later in 1999, long after he was retired. Just before the Indian team was about to leave for 1999 World Cup in England, they played a match against the 1983 team. Not everyone from the old team was fit enough to play, so Valson finally got to wear the India jersey and he bowled with a lot of passion. 

At the domestic level, Valson played for Delhi and Railways. In 75 matches, he picked up an impressive 212 wickets. Currently 61, he is the coach of the team Delhi Capitals in the Indian Premier League (IPL). 

R Badree appeared in the Zee5 film Line Of Descent (2019) with Abhay Deol and Brendan Fraser. He will also be seen in Kabir Khan’s upcoming web-series, The Forgotten Army: Azadi Ke Liye, which begins streaming tomorrow, 24 January, on Amazon Prime.

83 is due to be released on 10 April.