'I requested Kabir Khan to cast me': Saqib Saleem on playing Mohinder Amarnath in Ranveer Singh's '83'

Kabir Khan is leaving no stone unturned in the casting process of '83 which is based on Indian cricket team's first win at World Cup 1983. The film stars Ranveer Singh in the role of then captain Kapil Dev. The makers have roped in Saqib Saleem to play Mohinder Amarnath, who was declared the Man of the Match in the finals. Saqib had shared a photo of Amarnath and shared his happiness by writing, "Like every Indian, I love cricket but maybe a little more because I was training to be a cricketer when I was young. I met Jimmy sir on the sets of Dishoom for the first time. At that time I had never imagined that I would be playing him in a film based on the 1983 World Cup. I was fascinated by the stories he shared not knowing that I would have to be him in them."

When a tabloid asked Saqib, how he was finalised to play Mohinder in '83, the handsome actor stated, "I requested Kabir to cast me. He wanted to see my cricketing skills so I had to give a screen test." Saqib further revealed that he started training for the role eight weeks back under the guidance of former cricketer Balvinder Sandhu. The actor revealed that they are working on the batting style, bowling action and trying to get the mannerisms right.

Talking about Ranveer, Saqib further said, "Even he is attending the training session. His focus is to get Kapil Dev’s bowling action right. He is leading from the front even during training, and I can say that he is doing it well."

'83 is slated to release on April 10, 2020.