Tamil Nadu’s Iyengars of Cricket
(Author’s Note:
As an Iyengar I am proud to write about Iyengar cricketers who have made a mark in this prince of games. This brief article is in no way intended to downsize others who have represented Madras/Tamil Nadu and India with distinction Many of the latter day Iyengars have not been included because they were from a latter era- –Vengrai Parthasarathy)
The first name that comes to mind is of M.J. Gopalan. In his early days, this medium-fast swing bowler of distinction sported a tuft – kudumi, as it’s called. Often, this tuft would get untied and when Gopalan tied it up again into a neat bundle and went on to bowl, some of his ardent fans of Triplicane-genre predicted that it was a signal that a wicket would fall! Gopalan was a popular figure, especially in the Presidency cricket matches in which the Indians were pitted against the Europeans, The matches were played during Pongal and were played in a festive atmosphere. Gopalan was included in the team that toured England in 1936. He was also a skilled hockey player – a double International.
You can’t talk of Gopalan without mentioning another name – C.R. Rangachari both of them being from Triplicane Cricket Club. A jolly person, this speed merchant represented India on its first Australian tour and had bowled against the great Donald Bradman and other worthies. I remember reading a sports report (by A.L. Hasset, if my memory serves me right) that Rangachari missed Bradman’s off-stump by the ‘proverbial varnish’ – a metaphor that had stuck to my mind. He played for Madras State in the Ranji Trophy and the Delhi cricket authorities still have on display a stump broken into two with a Rangachari whizzer in an international match.
Then there is Venkataraghavan, the great off-spinner. His jaw-breaking name was too much of a mouthful for an English commentator who called him ‘Ventacaravan’! He captained the Indian team and was a part of the famous Indian spin quartet (the others were Prasanna, Chandrasekhar and Bedi). He went on to become a highly regarded cricket umpire. Another spin bowler of merit was A.K. Sarangapani.
The jaunty cricketer of Madras, K. Srikkanth is a dashing batsman who saw the ‘red’ ball as a red rag, meant to be ‘attacked’ mercilessly. He has played a notable part in Indian cricket and was made Captain of the team that went to Pakistan. His dashing forays and devil-may-care attitude were greatly admired. He is a cricket administrator, having been the Chairman of the Selection Committee.
Then there is Sadagopan Ramesh who showed much promise, but was sidelined because of injuries.
The Editor of Straight Bat S.R. Jagannathan is a leg spinner of class who had been selected even in the University Teams but missed making the Indian team
There was a rich lot of them.