Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

Apoorva Kumar Sengupta (3 August 1938 – 14 September 2013) was an Indian army officer and

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

er who played in one

Test Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film), ...

in 1959.

Cricket career

Sengupta's Test appearance came in the middle of a major controversy in Indian cricket. Ghulam Ahmed announced his retirement a few days before the

Madras Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

Test against the West Indies in 1958-59, and

Vijay Manjrekar Vijay Laxman Manjrekar (26 September 1931 – 18 October 1983) was an Indian cricketer who played 55 Tests. He represented several teams (Andhra, Bengal, Maharashtra, Mumbai, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh) in his first-class career. A small man, ...

dropped out due to an injury. This led to a confusing situation where

Jasu Patel Jasubhai Motibhai Patel (26 November 1924 – 12 December 1992) was an off-spinner who played Test cricket for India. Early days At the age of ten, he broke his arm falling from a tree. Because of this injury he had a jerky bowling action, whic ...

A. G. Kripal Singh Amritsar Govindsingh Kripal Singh (6 August 1933 – 22 July 1987) was an Indian Test cricketer. Life and career Kripal Singh came from a famous cricketing family. His father A. G. Ram Singh was unlucky not to play for India, his brother Mi ...

Manohar Hardikar Manohar Shankar Hardikar (8 February 1936 – 4 February 1995) was an Indian Test cricketer. Hardikar represented India in two Tests against West Indies in 1958–59. He was dismissed by Roy Gilchrist off the very first ball that he faced in ...

and Sengupta were all considered. The captain

Polly Umrigar Pahlan Ratanji "Polly" Umrigar (28 March 1926 – 7 November 2006) was an Indian cricketer. He played in Indian cricket team (1948- 1962) and played first-class cricket for Bombay and Gujarat. Umrigar played mainly as a middle-order batsman ...

wanted Hardikar but when the President of the

BCCI The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is the national governing body for cricket in India. Its headquarters are situated at Cricket centre, Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. The BCCI is the richest governing body of cricket in the worl ...

insisted that he pick Patel, Umrigar resigned the night before the match. In the end, Sengupta and Kripal Singh played. Sengupta was dismissed for 1 and 8 by

Wes Hall Sir Wesley Winfield Hall (born 12 September 1937) is a Barbadian former cricketer and politician. A tall, strong and powerfully built man, Hall was a genuine fast bowler and despite his very long run up, he was renowned for his ability to bow ...

and

Roy Gilchrist Roy Gilchrist (28 June 1934 – 18 July 2001) was a West Indian cricketer who played 13 Tests for the West Indies in the 1950s. He was born in Saint Thomas, Jamaica and died of Parkinson's disease in St Catherine, Jamaica at the age of 67. Gi ...

. Sengupta was a 'very good allrounder, right hand opening batsman, leg-break and googly bowler and slip field'. He had made his first-class debut earlier in that season for

Services Service may refer to: Activities * Administrative service, a required part of the workload of university faculty * Civil service, the body of employees of a government * Community service, volunteer service for the benefit of a community or a pu ...

against the West Indian touring team, scoring 32 and 100

not out In cricket, a batter is not out if they come out to bat in an innings and have not been dismissed by the end of an innings. The batter is also ''not out'' while their innings is still in progress. Occurrence At least one batter is not out at t ...

. Two months later he took 6 for 32 against

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...

on his first appearance in the

Ranji Trophy The Ranji Trophy (also known as Mastercard Ranji Trophy for sponsorship reasons) is a domestic first-class cricket championship played in India between multiple teams representing regional and state cricket associations. Board of Control for Cr ...

. These two performances had led to his selection for the Test match. He continued to play first-class cricket for ten years. His only other hundred was 146 not out scored against

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

in the 1959-60 Ranji Trophy semi-final.

Military career

Sengupta served as an officer in the Indian army and was awarded

PVSM Param Vishisht Seva Medal (PVSM) (IAST: ) is a military award of India. It was constituted in 1960 and since then it is awarded in recognition to peace-time service of the most exceptional order and may be awarded posthumously. All ranks of the ...

and

AVSM Ati Vishisht Seva Medal (AVSM) is a military award of India given to recognize "distinguished service of an exceptional order" to all ranks of the armed forces. The award is a peacetime equivalent of Uttam Yuddh Seva Medal, which is a Wartime Dis ...

. He rose to the rank of Lieutenant General (3 star). He was also selected to serve as the defense attache for USA and Canada, based in Washington DC. After retiring from the Indian army, he lived with his wife Meena Sengupta in New Delhi. They had two children, Amitabh and Surojit Sengupta. Sengupta died in the R&R hospital in New Delhi on 14 September 2013.Obituary in the Times of India (accessed 3 August 2014)
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References

External links

Cricinfo profile

"Apoorva Sengupta: A baffling Test career"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sengupta, Apoorva Sengupta, AK Sengupta, AK Sengupta, AK Sengupta, AK Services cricketers North Zone cricketers Indian generals Cricketers from Lucknow