Srinivasaraghavan Venkataraghavan

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Srinivas Venkataraghavan
India
Personal information
Full name Srinivasaraghavan Venkataraghavan
Nickname Venkat
Born 21 April 1945 (1945-04-21) (age 63)
Madras, India
Role Bowler, Umpire
Batting style Right-hand
Bowling style Right-arm off break
International information
Test debut (cap 110) 27 February 1965: v New Zealand
Last Test 24 September 1983: v Pakistan
ODI debut (cap 9) 13 July 1974: v England
Last ODI 7 April 1983: v West Indies
Domestic team information
Years Team
1970-1985 Tamil Nadu
1973-1975 Derbyshire
1963-1970 Madras
Umpiring information
Tests umpired 73 (1993–2004)
ODIs umpired 52 (1993–2003)
Career statistics
Tests ODI FC LA
Matches 57 15 341 71
Runs scored 748 54 6617 346
Batting average 11.68 10.80 17.73 11.16
100s/50s 0/2 –/– 1/24 0/0
Top score 64 26* 137 26*
Balls bowled 14877 868 83548 3985
Wickets 156 5 1390 64
Bowling average 36.11 108.40 24.14 35.34
5 wickets in innings 3 85 0
10 wickets in match 1 n/a 21 n/a
Best bowling 8/72 2/34 9/93 4/31
Catches/stumpings 44/– 4/– 316/– 29/–

As of 14 August 2007
Source: cricketarchive.com

Srinivasaraghavan Venkataraghavan pronunciation , also known by his nickname of Venkat, (born 21 April 1945, in Madras) was formerly a cricketer. He played for Derbyshire in English county cricket. He played Test cricket for the Indian cricket team, and later became an umpire on the elite ICC Test panel.

An off spin bowler, he was one of the famed Indian quartet of spin bowlers in the 1970s (the others being Bhagwat Chandrasekhar, Bishen Bedi and Erapalli Prasanna). He was also an excellent close in fielder and a useful tail end bat. Venkat burst on the test scene at the age of 20 when he was selected to play against the touring New Zealand side. By the end of the series he had emerged as a world class spinner, taking 12 wickets in the Delhi test that led India to victory. He was the vice captain of the Indian team that toured the West Indies and England in 1970-71. India won both series and created history in the process. Venkat played an important role, claiming five wickets in the Trinidad test and 13 wickets in the three tests in England. He captained India in both the 1975 and 1979 World Cup competitions. He also led India in a four test series against England in 1979. In domestic cricket, he led South Zone and Tamil Nadu for over a decade.

Venkat retired from first-class cricket in 1985. He became a cricket administrator and managed the Indian Test side. He was honoured with the Padma Shri in 2003. He is a mechanical engineer by profession.


[edit] Umpiring Career

Venkat made his international umpiring debut in the One Day International between India and England at Jaipur on January 18th 1993. He made his Test umpiring debut in the same month, with the match between India and England at Kolkata. He gained a place on the inaugural International Umpire Panel when it was formed in 1994, and was selected by the ICC on a regular basis to umpire in test matches away from home as the neutral umpire. In 2002 the ICC created an Elite Panel of the top eight umpires, who were employed on a full time basis and would cover all Test match officiating. Venkat was duly included in the inaugural Elite Panel, of which he remained a member until his retirement in January 2004. That he remained among the top echelon of international umpires for the entirety of his career is testament to his umpiring ability.

He was renowned for his bent-elbow gesture for out, and also for giving decisions very quickly. He was a stickler for the rules, but was not officious, and this was an important skill that brought him immediate respect. He was also very accurate in his decision making, and this too brought him the respect of the players and spectators alike.

The highlights of his umpiring career include 6 Ashes Tests and appointments to three World Cups in 1996, 1999 and 2003. In both the 1996 and 1999 tournaments he was appointed to stand in a semi-final, and was the third umpire of the 1999 World Cup final between Australia and Pakistan at Lord's. In total he officiated on-field in 73 Test matches and 52 One-day Internationals during his career.

[edit] Umpiring Statistics

First Last Total
Tests India v England at Kolkata, Jan 1993 South Africa v West Indies at Centurion, Jan 2004 73
ODI's India v England at Jaipur, Jan 1993 Australia v New Zealand at Faridabad, Oct 2003 52

[edit] External links


Preceded by
Nawab of Pataudi Jr
Indian National Test Cricket Captain
1974/75 (1 Test Match)
Succeeded by
Nawab of Pataudi Jr
Preceded by
Sunil Gavaskar
Indian National Test Cricket Captain
1979
Succeeded by
Sunil Gavaskar