83: Tahir Raj Bhasin to play Sunil Gavaskar in upcoming sports drama, also starring Ranveer Singh

Tahir Raj Bhasin has joined the cast of 83, and will be playing former Indian cricket team skipper Sunil Gavaskar in the film.

Tahir Raj Bhasin is #SunilGavaskar in #83TheFilm... Stars Ranveer Singh as #KapilDev... Directed by Kabir Khan... Presented by Reliance Entertainment... Produced by Madhu Mantena, Vishnu Induri, Kabir Khan... #CastOf83 #Relive83 pic.twitter.com/DFnNdYzbTh

— taran adarsh (@taran_adarsh) February 14, 2019

Bhasin confirmed the news in an interaction with Mid-Day . He said that it is a"a massive responsibility" to portray one of the greatest batsmen in Indian cricket history. “For now, I’m focusing on striking the ball with half the panache that Gavaskar did,” he told the publication.

Bhasin will be training for three days a week, and will focus on Gavaskar’s stance and batting technique.

The sports drama is based on India’s historic win in 1983 under the captaincy of Kapil Dev, where the Indian cricket team defeated West Indies in the final to clinch their first-ever World Cup trophy.

While Ranveer will portray the role of Dev, the movie will also feature an ensemble cast including Tamil actor  Jiiva , Ammy Virk, Chirag Patil and YouTube personality Sahil Khattar. Pankaj Tripathi has been roped in to essay PR Man Singh, the manager of the team in the film.

Meanwhile, Ranveer Singh has been undergoing special training , and will soon be spending three weeks with Dev to get the mannerisms and attitude of the character right. He will also learn the veteran cricketer’s unique bowling style. Singh has earlier trained with bowling great Balwinder Singh Sandhu, who will be portrayed by Virk in the film.

83 is directed by Kabir Khan, and also financed by him along with Madhu Mantena and Vishnu Induri.