Bhagwat Subramanya Chandrasekhar (informally Chandra; born 17 May 1945) is an Indian former
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 as a
leg spin
Leg spin is a type of spin bowling in cricket. A leg spinner bowls right-arm with a wrist spin action. The leg spinner's normal delivery causes the ball to spin from right to left (from the bowler's perspective) when the ball bounces on the ...
ner. Considered among the top echelon of leg spinners, Chandrasekhar along with
E.A.S. Prasanna,
Bishen Singh Bedi
Bishan Singh Bedi (; born 25 September 1946) is a former Indian cricketer who was primarily a slow left-arm orthodox bowler. He played Test cricket for India from 1966 to 1979 and formed part of the famous Indian spin quartet. He played a total ...
and
Srinivasaraghavan Venkataraghavan constituted the
Indian spin quartet
The Indian spin quartet is the collective name given to the Indian cricket spin bowlers of the 1960s and 1970s: Erapalli Prasanna and Srinivas Venkataraghavan (both off spinners), Bhagwat Chandrasekhar (a leg spinner), and Bishen Singh Bedi (a l ...
that dominated spin bowling during the 1960s and 1970s.
At a very young age,
polio
Poliomyelitis, commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 70% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe s ...
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.
[ He is one of only two test cricketers in history with more wickets than total runs scored, the other being Chris Martin.
He was awarded the ]Padmashri
Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is conferred ...
in 1972.
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.
Biography
Chandrasekhar was born in 1945 in Mysore
Mysore (), officially Mysuru (), is a city in the southern part of the state of Karnataka, India. Mysore city is geographically located between 12° 18′ 26″ north latitude and 76° 38′ 59″ east longitude. It is located at an altitude of ...
, where he had his primary education. He developed an early interest in cricket watching the playing styles of Australian leg spinner Richie Benaud
Richard Benaud (; 6 October 1930 – 10 April 2015) was an Australian cricketer who, after his retirement from international cricket in 1964, became a highly regarded commentator on the game.
Benaud was a Test cricket all-rounder, blending l ...
. 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.[
By that time his family relocated to ]Bangalore
Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...
and he got an opportunity to play for "City Cricketers".[ In an interview, Chandrasekhar stated that he joined up mainly to get a chance to play with the leather ball.][ 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.][ 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.][
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
The Oval, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Kia Oval, is an international cricket ground in Kennington, located in the borough of Lambeth, in south London. The Oval has been the home ground of Surrey County Cricket Club since ...
in 1971; the bowling was named the "Indian Bowling performance of the century" by ''Wisden'' in 2002. ''Wisden'' noted that he was "wonderfully accurate for a bowler of his type, and his extra pace made him a formidable proposition even on the sluggish Oval pitch." His consistent bowling performances in 1971 earned him being named one of the five ''Wisden
''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'', or simply ''Wisden'', colloquially the Bible of Cricket, is a cricket reference book published annually in the United Kingdom. The description "bible of cricket" was first used in the 1930s by Alec Waugh in a ...
'' Cricketers of the Year
The ''Wisden'' Cricketers of the Year are cricketers selected for the honour by the annual publication ''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'', based primarily on their "influence on the previous English season". The award began in 1889 with the naming ...
in 1972.[
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?" Chandrasekhar also played a major role in India's victory in Australia in 1977–78.][ During that series he became the first bowler to register identical figures in each innings of a test (6 for 52).
Chandrasekhar had minimal batting skills, finishing with a Test average of 4.07.] 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, and he has 23 Test ducks to his credit. He also holds the dubious distinction of scoring fewer runs (167) off his bat than wickets (242) taken in Test cricket; the only other cricketer with this distinction over a significant Test career is New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
fast bowler Chris Martin
Christopher Anthony John Martin (born 2 March 1977) is an English singer-songwriter and musician. He is best known as the lead vocalist, pianist, rhythm guitarist and co-founder of the rock band Coldplay. Born in Exeter, Devon, he went to Univ ...
.
Honours and recognitions
* '' Indian Cricket'' Cricketer of the Year in 1964
* ''Wisden'' Cricketers of the Year in 1972
* Padmashri
Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is conferred ...
in 1972
* Arjuna Award
The Arjuna Award, officially known as Arjuna Awards for Outstanding Performance in Sports and Games, is the second-highest sporting honour of India, the highest being the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award. The award is named after Arjuna, one ...
in 1972
See also
* List of international cricket five-wicket hauls by B. S. Chandrasekhar
Notes
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chandrasekhar, Bhagwat
1945 births
Living people
India One Day International cricketers
India Test cricketers
Indian cricketers
Karnataka cricketers
South Zone cricketers
International Cavaliers cricketers
Wisden Cricketers of the Year
Cricketers from Mysore
Recipients of the Arjuna Award
Recipients of the Padma Shri in sports
People with polio