Critically acclaimed actor Pankaj Tripathi will soon be seen in Kabir Khan's upcoming sports film '83' where he has played the role of P.R. Man Singh, the manager of 1983 World Cup winning Indian cricket team. Pankaj was a little boy residing in rural Bihar when Kapil Dev and his squad lift the cup in London in 1983. Due to lack of television or radio in his village, Pankaj got to know about India's historic win several days later.

"When India won the first World Cup, since there was no radio in our village, we got the news later and did not really hear the live commentary of the winning match. But since 1988, when the radio came to our home, I was a regular listener on matches and was a huge admirer of Sunil Gavaskar and Kapil Dev both," the actor told IANS.

When Pankaj took up the part in '83' and started prepping for the film, he got to meet his heores Kapil Dev, Sunil Gavaskar and others and it was an emotional moment for him. He stated, "Being a village boy, I never thought of becoming an actor when I was young, so meeting my favourite cricketer was like out of question! Now, when the film offer came to me and as part of the workshop I met Sunil sir, Kapil sir and everyone it was emotional and was a pinch-me for me. The young boy from the village has come this far, becoming a part of a historical film, re-creating the history and reliving those moments on-screen. I am emotional about it.”