 The Andhra Bank team
The Andhra Bank team of the seventies read like the South Zone team, full of young, bubbling talent. It was an all-round combination that seemed to have everything a cricket needed - pace, spin, a good wicket-keeper, good batting strength and some outstanding fielders.
The manager of the team, the late C S Shyam Lal, was a suave, dapper man in his forties then, someone who liked to dress well, and spoke in a careful, measured tone. He was a genuine cricket enthusiast who had played the game in his day, and belonged to a family that ran a club
in the local league.
The captain in the early days of the bank’s team was Abdul Hai, a doctor from Osmania University, who I believe, acted as the bank’s medical officer for a while, i.e., when he was not playing cricket. Abdul was a talented left-handed batsman who scored tons of runs at the league and Ranji Trophy levels at one-drop. He also bowled effectively with the new ball at the local level. He was an astute captain who managed to get the best out of his teammates, even those he sometimes offended with his habit of swearing in chaste Urdu. (One example was his treatment of the left arm all-rounder Meher Baba, who once encouraged by his mates, gathered the courage to tell Abdul off in no uncertain terms that he would not tolerate his foul language, especially if it referred to his parentage. Abdul’s reaction was instantaneous and charming. He said, “I speak with love, you so-and-so,” and ruffled Meher’s hair affectionately. What could poor Meher do but walk quietly off and tell his friends, “Come on guys, Abdul speaks with love, don’t you know?”)
When Abdul Hai moved out of Hyderabad, the young and talented all-rounder Narasimha Rao took over the captaincy. Bobji, as he was known to one and all, was a fine, upstanding batsman, strong on the onside, and an unorthodox leg spinner in the Chandrasekhar mould. His inseparable friend, Jyotiprasad was a promising all-rounder of deceptive pace and remarkable accuracy while opening the bowling and a ferociously powerful batsman in the lower middle order. He was also a brilliant fielder, especially at short leg. Chandran and Inder Raj made an aggressive opening pair, with each of them competing with the other in spectacular, sometimes reckless strokeplay. Both of them could bowl as well, Chandran medium pace, and Inder both medium pace and leg spin. Diminutive Mujtaba Ali Baig was every bit as accomplished, even if he did not always know how good he could be. Vijay Paul was a classy batsman, with unusual powers of concentration and an enormous appetite for runs. Ravikumar was a lazy looking opening batsman of elegance and an off spinner of clever variations. Meher Baba was one of the finest left hand all-rounders of his time, equally capable of dour defence and powerful shotmaking. Left hander Khalid Abdul Qaiyyum who later joined State Bank of India, was a class act. Wicket-keeper Dilip Reddy was also a handy batsman, as was Mohammad
Hafeez.
The tall, gangling H Ramprasad, who opened the bowling with Jyoti, was a sharp customer with an effective bouncer, and he could also wield the long handle quite well. Bhaskar Ramamurthy, who joined in the late seventies, was a stylish, erect batsman with excellent footwork, a useful medium pacer and superb outfielder with a flat, accurate throw. There were several other players who all pulled their weight at various times - Mazhar, Nihal Puri, Prasanna Kumar and K N Charan were some of the other players who made it difficult for anyone to take his place in the side for granted.
It is such a line-up I joined in November 1980, when I switched over from State Bank of India. I was not quite sure how I would fit into such a star-studded eleven (I was coming from a similar outfit in State Bank of India), my fears were to be dispelled in the very first match I played for Andhra Bank. In fact, I reported for duty that day - on the Osmania University Cricket ground. As the bank’s chairman, O Swaminatha Reddy, the mastermind behind our involvement in cricket, inaugurated the match against the touring Ceylon Tobacco Board XI, my first day in office was unusual and momentous. Call it beginner’s luck or what you will, I had a dream spell and ended up taking eight wickets. Not a bad start!
V Ramnarayan
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