B. S. Chandrasekhar

Bhagwath Chandrasekhar
Personal information
Born (1945-05-17) 17 May 1945
Mysore, Karnataka
Batting style Right-hand bat
Bowling style Legbreak
International information
National side
Test debut (cap 58) 21 January 1964 v England
Last Test 12 July 1979 v England
ODI debut (cap 1) 22 February 1976 v New Zealand
Last ODI 22 February 1976 v New Zealand
Career statistics
Competition Tests ODI FC List A
Matches 58 1 246 7
Runs scored 167 11 600 25
Batting average 4.07 - 4.61 25
100s/50s 0/0 0/0 0/0 0/0
Top score 22 11* 25 14*
Balls bowled 15963 56 53817 420
Wickets 242 3 1063 8
Bowling average 29.74 12 24.03 38.87
5 wickets in innings 16 0 75 0
10 wickets in match 2 0 19 0
Best bowling 8/79 3/36 9/72 4/61
Catches/stumpings 25/- 0/0 107/0 1/0
Source: ESPNcricinfo, 10 November 2014

Bhagwat Subramanya Chandrasekhar (informally Chandra; born 17 May 1945) is a former Indian cricketer who played as a leg spinner. Considered among the top echelon of leg spinners, Chandrasekhar along with E.A.S. Prasanna, Bishen Singh Bedi and Srinivasaraghavan Venkataraghavan constituted the Indian spin quartet that dominated spin bowling during the 1960s and 1970s.[1] At a very young age, polio left his right arm withered. Chandrasekhar played 58 Test matches, capturing 242 wickets at an average of 29.74 in a career that spanned sixteen years.[1]

Chandrasekhar was named as a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1972; in 2002 he won Wisden's award for "Best bowling performance of the century" for India, for his six wickets for 38 runs against England at the Oval in 1971.[2]

Biography

Chandrasekhar was born in 1945 in Mysore, where he had his primary education.[3] He developed an early interest in cricket watching the playing styles of Australian leg spinner Richie Benaud. An attack of polio at the age of six left his right arm withered. At the age of 10, his hand had recovered and Chandrasekhar started playing cricket.[3]

By that time his family relocated to Bangalore and he got an opportunity to play for "City Cricketers".[3] In an interview, Chandrasekhar stated that he joined up mainly to get a chance to play with the leather ball.[3] While playing on the streets of Bangalore, he had mainly used a rubber ball. While playing for the club, Chandrasekhar tried different bowling styles that also included fast bowling.[3] It was in 1963 that he decided to play as a leg spin bowler. His idea proved to be right as he was soon selected for the national side.[3]

Making his Test debut for India against England at Bombay in 1964, he collected four wickets in the match. He was named the Indian Cricket Cricketer of the Year the same year. Chandrasekhar was influential in setting up India's first victory in England when he picked up six wickets for 38 runs at The Oval in 1971; the bowling was named the "Indian Bowling performance of the century" by Wisden in 2002.[4] Wisden noted that, "[Chandrasekhar] was wonderfully accurate for a bowler of his type, and his extra pace made him a formidable proposition even on the sluggish Oval pitch."[5] His consistent bowling performances in 1971 earned him being named one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 1972.[4]

In a Test against New Zealand in 1976, Chandrasekhar and Prasanna took 19 wickets and were crucial in setting up India's win. Attributed to him is a famous umpire-directed quote, made during a day of bad decisions in New Zealand after several of his lbw appeals were given not out: "I know he is bowled, but is he out?"[6][7] Chandrasekhar also played a major role in India's victory in Australia in 1977–78.[1]

Chandrasekhar had minimal batting skills, finishing with a Test average of 4.07.[8] He was given a special Gray-Nicholls bat during the 1977–78 Australian tour with a hole in it to commemorate the four ducks he scored,[9] and he has 23 Test ducks to his credit.[10] He also holds the dubious distinction of scoring fewer runs (167) off his bat than wickets (242) taken in Test cricket;[8] the only other cricketer with this distinction over a significant Test career is New Zealand fast bowler Chris Martin.[11]

Honours and recognitions

See also

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 S Rajesh (12 September 2011). "When spin was king". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 8 February 2014.
  2. ↑ "This is my finest hour: Kapil Dev". The Sportstar Vol. 25 No. 31. 8 March 2002. Retrieved 8 February 2014.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Muddie, Raggi (27 September 2011). "The Spin Wizard – B S Chandrashekhar". Karnataka.com. Retrieved 14 April 2013.
  4. 1 2 H Natarajan. "Players / India / Bhagwath Chandrasekhar". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 14 April 2013.
  5. ↑ Williamson, Martin (13 August 2011). "India's day of glory". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 14 April 2013.
  6. ↑ "India's Aussie tour: Sissy Australians and dumb umpires", Merinews, 6 Jan 2008
  7. ↑ Dilip Vengsarkar (23 October 1999), "Nothing to Crowe about", Rediff
  8. 1 2 Frindall, Bill (2009). Ask Bearders. BBC Books. pp. 44–45. ISBN 978-1-84607-880-4.
  9. ↑ Hanon, Peter (12 November 2011). "Polio clean bowled". The Age. Retrieved 18 April 2013.
  10. ↑ "Records / Test matches / Batting records / Most ducks in career". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 18 April 2013.
  11. ↑ Steven Lynch (20 December 2011). "Hughes' familiar problem, and Steyn's wickets". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 18 April 2013.
  12. ↑ "Padma Awards Directory (1954-2011)" (PDF). Ministry of Home Affairs. Retrieved 18 April 2013.
  13. ↑ "List of Arjuna Award Winners". Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports. Archived from the original on 25 December 2007. Retrieved 18 April 2013.

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