E. A. S. Prasanna

Erapalli Anantharao Srinivas Prasanna (Kannada: ಎರಾಪಳ್ಳಿ ಅನಂತರಾವ್‌ ಶ್ರೀನಿವಾಸ್‌ ಪ್ರಸನ್ನ) (born: May 22, 1940) is a famous former cricket player from Bangalore, India. He was a spin bowler, specializing in off spin and a member of the Indian spin quartet. He is an alumunus of National Institute of Engineering , Mysore.

Career

Prasanna played his debut Test cricket match at Madras against England in 1961. His first overseas tour to the West Indies was a tough one and he did not play another Test for five years. He left the sport for a period to finish his engineering degree, returning in 1967. He gained a regular place in the side following his excellent performances in England in 1967.

He retired in 1978, after a tour of Pakistan which also signalled the decline of Bishen Bedi and Bhagwat Chandrasekhar. He twice led Karnataka to the Ranji Trophy, the first time ending Bombay's 15-year reign.

Widely respected and feared in domestic cricket as well, he enjoyed bowling to batsmen that were willing to try to hit him. He had a neat, brisk, high action and marvellous control of line, length, and flight. He spun the ball in a classic high loop towards the batsman, increasing his chances of beating his adversary in the air. As a result, he made the ball bounce higher than expected. A bowler with an attacking mindset, he was also patient, and would bait a batsman for over after over, attempting to induce a mistake.

He has written an autobiography,One More Over.

Awards and achievements

• 1970 - Padma Shri Award^[1]
• 2006 – Castrol Lifetime Achievement award

References