Hemu Adhikari
Encyclopedia
Colonel Hemchandra Ramachandra Adhikari (born 31 July 1919 in Pune
, Maharashtra
— died 25 October 2003 in Mumbai
, Maharashtra) was an Indian cricket
er, representing his country as both a player and coach in a career that spanned three decades.
A talented right-handed batsman and occasional leg spin bowler, he made his first-class
debut as a teenager before the outbreak of World War II
in the 1936/37 domestic season. He immediately demonstrated his abilities on the local stage but due to the war, and his role in the Indian armed forces, his career was interrupted.
Adhikari made his Test
debut as a 28 year old in 1947 on India's tour of Australia and immediately established himself as an important member of the squad, although his continued official role in the army restricted his availability for the team.
Very good at playing spin bowling
and courageous against fast bowling
, Adhikari had some fine moments playing for India, including a national record 109-run
last wicket partnership with Ghulam Ahmed
in a Test against regional rivals Pakistan
. He captained India in one Test as he neared his fortieth birthday, scoring 63 and 40 while batting and taking three important wickets in a drawn game against the West Indies
.
Adhikari took to coaching after retiring from first-class cricket - with a very good batting average
of 41.74 - and was in charge of the Indian team as they established themselves on the world stage. He helped guide India to their first series win in England in 1971 and was a major reason behind the development of such outstanding cricketers as Sunil Gavaskar
, Kapil Dev
and Ravi Shastri
. Some felt his history with military helped him as a coach, with former national team spin bowler Bapu Nadkarni
saying "Adhikari was a disciplined man. Being a military man, he would not bother about what anybody else thought."
After his death in October 2003, at age 84, tributes flooded in for the popular Indian, with Indian cricket writer Suresh Menon
saying "Adhikari was not a big man yet he was a presence. He will be remembered for his role in Indian cricket's self-confidence movement that began with that series win in 1971."
, Brisbane
, 1947/48
Last Test: vs West Indies, Delhi
, 1958/59
Pune
Pune , is the eighth largest metropolis in India, the second largest in the state of Maharashtra after Mumbai, and the largest city in the Western Ghats. Once the centre of power of the Maratha Empire, it is situated 560 metres above sea level on the Deccan plateau at the confluence of the Mula ...
, Maharashtra
Maharashtra
Maharashtra is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India...
— died 25 October 2003 in Mumbai
Mumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
, Maharashtra) was an Indian cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
er, representing his country as both a player and coach in a career that spanned three decades.
A talented right-handed batsman and occasional leg spin bowler, he made his first-class
First-class cricket
First-class cricket is a class of cricket that consists of matches of three or more days' scheduled duration, that are between two sides of eleven players and are officially adjudged first-class by virtue of the standard of the competing teams...
debut as a teenager before the outbreak of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
in the 1936/37 domestic season. He immediately demonstrated his abilities on the local stage but due to the war, and his role in the Indian armed forces, his career was interrupted.
Adhikari made his Test
Test cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
debut as a 28 year old in 1947 on India's tour of Australia and immediately established himself as an important member of the squad, although his continued official role in the army restricted his availability for the team.
Very good at playing spin bowling
Spin bowling
Spin bowling is a technique used for bowling in the sport of cricket. Practitioners are known as spinners or spin bowlers.-Purpose:The main aim of spin bowling is to bowl the cricket ball with rapid rotation so that when it bounces on the pitch it will deviate, thus making it difficult for the...
and courageous against fast bowling
Fast bowling
Fast bowling, sometimes known as pace bowling, is one of the two main approaches to bowling in the sport of cricket. The other is spin bowling...
, Adhikari had some fine moments playing for India, including a national record 109-run
Run (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, a run is the basic unit of scoring. Runs are scored by a batsman, and the aggregate of the scores of a team's batsmen constitutes the team's score. A batsman scoring 50 or 100 runs , or any higher multiple of 50 runs, is considered a particular achievement...
last wicket partnership with Ghulam Ahmed
Ghulam Ahmed
Ghulam Ahmed was an off spin bowler, who captained India in Test cricket. After his retirement, he served for many years as the secretary of BCCI....
in a Test against regional rivals Pakistan
Pakistani cricket team
The Pakistan cricket team is the national cricket team of Pakistan. Pakistan, represented by the Pakistan Cricket Board , is a full member of the International Cricket Council, and thus participates in , and cricket matches....
. He captained India in one Test as he neared his fortieth birthday, scoring 63 and 40 while batting and taking three important wickets in a drawn game against the West Indies
West Indian cricket team
The West Indian cricket team, also known colloquially as the West Indies or the Windies, is a multi-national cricket team representing a sporting confederation of 15 mainly English-speaking Caribbean countries, British dependencies and non-British dependencies.From the mid 1970s to the early 1990s,...
.
Adhikari took to coaching after retiring from first-class cricket - with a very good batting average
Batting average
Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...
of 41.74 - and was in charge of the Indian team as they established themselves on the world stage. He helped guide India to their first series win in England in 1971 and was a major reason behind the development of such outstanding cricketers as Sunil Gavaskar
Sunil Gavaskar
Sunil Manohar "Sunny" Gavaskar is a former cricketer who played during the 1970s and 1980s for Bombay and India. Widely regarded as one of the greatest opening batsmen in cricket history, Gavaskar set world records during his career for the most Test runs and most Test centuries scored by any...
, Kapil Dev
Kapil Dev
Kapil Dev Ramlal Nikhanj , better known as Kapil Dev, is a former Indian cricketer. He captained the Indian cricket team which won the 1983 Cricket World Cup...
and Ravi Shastri
Ravi Shastri
Ravishankar Jayadritha Shastri is a former Indian cricketer and captain. He was an all–rounder who batted right-handed and bowled left arm spin. His international career started when he was 18 years old and lasted for 12 years...
. Some felt his history with military helped him as a coach, with former national team spin bowler Bapu Nadkarni
Bapu Nadkarni
Rameshchandra Gangaram 'Bapu' Nadkarni was an Indian cricketer. He is mainly known for being an economical bowler.-Career:...
saying "Adhikari was a disciplined man. Being a military man, he would not bother about what anybody else thought."
After his death in October 2003, at age 84, tributes flooded in for the popular Indian, with Indian cricket writer Suresh Menon
Suresh Menon
-Career:Menon has appeared in movies including Phir Hera Pheri, Partner, Fool N Final, Krazzy 4, Deewane Huye Pagal, Chalte Chalte, God Only Knows, Dil To Pagal Hai and Hello. Additionally, he has made an appearance on the television show Comedy Circus...
saying "Adhikari was not a big man yet he was a presence. He will be remembered for his role in Indian cricket's self-confidence movement that began with that series win in 1971."
Tests
Test Debut: vs AustraliaAustralian cricket team
The Australian cricket team is the national cricket team of Australia. It is the joint oldest team in Test cricket, having played in the first Test match in 1877...
, Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
, 1947/48
Last Test: vs West Indies, Delhi
Delhi
Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...
, 1958/59
- Adhikari's best Test batting score of 114 not out was made against West Indies, Delhi, 1948/49
- His best Test bowling figures of 3 for 68 came against West Indies, Delhi, 1958/59
- His Test captaincy record was: 1 match, 1 draw
First-class
- Adhikari's best first-class batting score was 230 not out
- His best first-class bowling figures were 3 for 2