A Ranji Cricketer
In the family!
I WAS on a presentation
for my newspaper, Sakshi
for last few days, looking
on Andhra Pradesh's sports
statisticsin terms of sporting
infrastructures, players it
produced, Games it exceled in.
Objective was to present AP
also now as a state where
sports is a way of life. Sports
economy was the focal point
of this study, as these days
every state is now trying to
capitalize on it.
It became an essential study
for the daily in the context of
the daily as this daily
particularly did better here in
AP than Hyderabad. And since
Hyderabad had garnered the best of the sportspersons and
also the sporting facilities after the division of the state, AP
is now catching up fast on this. AP is also where Sakshi is
doing better on its sports page readership and we needed
to promote the potentials of sports in AP for netting better
advertising volume for this page.
I also looked at Andhra Pradesh's cricket scenario, starting
from Ranji trophy as to how the AP team had figured
historically in comparison to other southern states.
As I got my Sakshi team in Vizag to send me the stats for all
the sports including cricket, I then recalled that Gaja
Sridhar's dad, Late Komireddy Bhavanna also played for
APs Ranji and first class matches. In those days Hyderabad
was a different Ranji team than APs.
In the past I had asked Gaja Sridhar as well as her brother
Bhaskar Ramamurthy many times over to send me
whatever they had on their dad's cricketing career. For, it
was a matter of pride for us to know and also chronicle the
history of our family for the posterity and cherish the fact
that someone from our from the details, those indeed were very inspiring stats:
extended family had played
great First Class cricket
matches for our native state of
Andhra Pradesh.
I had also sought for cricketing
action pictures or even news
clipping from them. Sadly,
Bhaskar Ramamurthy had no
details preserved as he
couldn't send any despite
many reminders. Gaja Sridhar
too had very vague memories
of her dad's playing days since
she herself was then a very
young kid. And also for the fact
perhaps that her dad had
passed away in 1977 when he
was just 39 year old and Gaja Komireddi Bhavanna a Career Profile spanning 1957-58 to 1968-69
was just an 11 year old kid.
Born in 1938 Late K Bhavanna Garu debuted in Ranji Trophy
And to top it all, Gaja or even in the year 1957-58 as a young teen of just 19 year old. I
her brother Bhaskar could see his name featuring there in most of the Ranji
Ramamurthy had no interest Matches till 1965. He played first class matches till the
at all in Cricket! Great Irony! season of 1968-69. However on which date did he call it day
Well, scrolling through the from the game, is not known.
excel sheets for the sports
data and also for Ranji Trophy
tourneys from 1953 till 2010,
which my office had sent me Gaja
from Vizag, which incidentally With her
dad, Late K
is also the headquarters for Bhavanna
Andhra Pradesh Cricket garu and her
Association, I discovered her Chinna
dad's name in the data: K Naynamma,
Bhavanna Or Late Komireddy Late Gaja
Gowri.
Bhavanna Garu.
There was not much detail
about him in that excel sheet.
But whatever I could gather
From the scanty details, I
could also figure out that he
was an all-rounder. A solid
Right hand bat as well as a
worthy Right arm off break
bowler for his Andhra Pradesh
team.
Some of the noteworthy
contributions that he made for
his AP team were in the
following matches:
1. In a drawn match against
Kerala that his AP team played
under the captaincy of C S
Nayudu, in Palakkad from
December 25 to 27, 1959, Late
Bhavanna garu slammed 54
runs and remained not out. He
was the top scorer for his state
in that match.
2. The playing at a Hyderabad
venue against the legendary M
L Jaisimha led Hyderabad
team during December 25-27,
1964, Late Bhavanna garu also
led his AP team as its Captain.
And he smashed a captains
knock of 61 not out runs!
Hyderabad team had such
legendary players in that team
then which included great
cricketers like Syed Abid Ali,
Abbas Ali Baig and few others
who also played for India in
the later years. Incidentally I
had seen M L Jaisimha play in
a benefit match in Jamshedpur
in 1985 when I came down
from Patna to cover the match
AP Vs Kerala in which Bhavanna Garus performance stands apart!
for my newspaper then.
 to 17, Late Bhavanna garu took 5 wickets for 106 runs.
After 1965 there is not much information available on
Bhavanna garu. I guess by this time he must have called
quits.
Having discovered this from my team which I posted on
Facebook, I also sought our familys former Yahoo Crickets
Scribe, Hemant aka Raja also to dig out more information
on the cricketing career of Late Bhavanna Garu. I am glad
he had posted several links on his playing career from the
cricket resources that he has at his command. And that
helped in putting Bhavanna Garus Cricketing jigsaw puzzle
together.
Mrs. & Mr. Bhavanna during their wedding
Bhavanna garu played 18 Ranji Trophy matches, scored 401
3. Playing under K Nayana as Runs and has accounted for 64 Ranji wickets. [Refer to the
captain, Late Bhavanna garu career profiling brief Raja had posted] He has had 5 wicket
gave a splendid performance hauls in six Ranji matches. Once he also took 10 wickets in
as a Bowler in a Ranji Match a single match. His cricketing career spanned over 11
against Kerala, played in seasons from 1957-58 to 1968-69.
Anantapur during January 4 to Raja also sent the link to an article written by one V
6, 1965. In this memorable
Ramanarayan, probably a junior to Bhavanna Garu who had
match he took a record 5 seen him play. He writes, One genuine off-spinner who
wickets giving away just 34
never came into the limelight beyond the south was my
runs. As a result, Andhra won
senior by some years. K Bavanna bowled from a good
the match handsomely by an
height and gave the ball a hard tweak. He was devilish on
innings and 148 runs.
matting, as some of the finest South Zone batsmen of the
4. Playing against Madras period found out. He remained unknown at the national
[Now Tamil Nadu] which then level as Andhra did not qualify for the knockout part of the
had in its team, S Ranji Trophy. Yes, it is a fact that Andhra Pradesh in those
Venkataraghavan [former days remained underdogs as all the cricketing limelight
Indian Captain] in a Ranji those days were stolen by Hyderabad team. Then Vizag
Match during January 8 to 10, where Andhra Cricket Association was based, did not even
1965, Gaja's dad took 7 have proper media back-ups.
wickets for 114 runs.
While putting this note up in the family records here, I once
5. He was no doubt in peak again earnestly and most solemnly urge Bhaskar
form during 1965 season. In Ramamurthy as well as Gaja Sridhar to dig out Late
another match this year Bhavanna Garu's action picture or newspaper clipping from
against Mysore [Now their family archive and share them here for the family
Karnataka] during January 15 history to be preserved.
AS Raghunath with inputs from AR Hemant