Gopal Sharma, born on August 3, 1960 Kanpur, in Uttar Pradesh, was the second person to represent Madhya Pradesh in Indian cricket, after the Maharajkumar of Vizianagram of 1936.

He had participated in 5 Tests and 11 One-Day Internationals, from 1985 to 1990. This off-spinning promise, made his Test debut, against England in his own state, Uttar Pradesh, in 1984-85.

Gopal Sharma picked up 3 wickets for 115 runs, by bowling for 60 overs. He joined Team India, in the expedition to Sri Lanka, in 1985-86.However, Gopal Sharma participated only in one Test.

This right-arm off spinner, was present in two more Tests against Pakistan the subsequent season. He attained the acme of perfection of his career, securing 4 wickets for 88 runs at Jaipur.

However, despite his good performance rate, stalwarts like Maninder Singh, Laxman Sivaramakrishnan, Ravi Shastri, Arshad Ayub, Shivlal Yadav and Narendra Hirwani being on the foray of action, Gopal Sharma, was relegated to the background.

He received back an invitation for a Test against Sri Lanka at Chandigarh in India in November 1990 . In the first innings he grabbed the wicket of G F Labrooy. But somehow, failed earn for him a long-term stay in the Indian team.

His statistics in first-class cricket is considerably better. In the 104 matches, that he has played, he has bagged 2309 runs, at an average of 22.41. His optimal batting feat was his 101*. While, he has on the whole, obtained 353 wickets at an average of 30.01, with his career best innings being 9/59.

Gopal Sharma did attempt his best to glorify the reputation of his home state Madhya Pradesh . He was elected as a member of the Indian Selection Committee, representing the Central Zone, in 2004-05 season.

After Gopal Sharma, Mohammad Khaif was the next person to follow his footsteps. It is worth mentioning, that players like Gopal Sharma, are heroes who can act as torchbearers for the future generation of sports-wise insignificant states.