Top 10 Karnataka cricketers to have played for India - Part 2

7. Syed Kirmani

Indian wicket-keeper Syed Kirmani during the 4th test match at Calcutta, January 1982

Syed Mujtaba Hussain Kirmani, was called “Kiri” by most of his team mates and is arguably one of the best wicket-keeper batsmen of his era.

‘Kiri’ was sharp behind the stumps, especially keeping to Bedi, Chandra, Prasanna and Venkat. Making his way into the Indian team was not easy as he had to step into the shoes of the charismatic Farokh Engineer. But Kirmani went about the job in a quiet and efficient way and ended up being remembered as a fun character himself.

Syed Kirmani is most remembered for that patient 26 run knock he made batting alongside the great Kapil Dev in the 1983 World Cup, which helped India stay in the tournament and eventually win it.

But Kirmani has also had some other significant knocks that went unnoticed, such as the brilliant 101 not out that he scored playing as a night watchman against Australia at Mumbai. He also scored an unbeaten 102 against England, again at Mumbai in 1984.

Kirmani’s career extended from 1976-1986, and he played 88 matches with 198 dismissals to his name. 160 of them were catches and he also has 38 stumpings to his credit. He also won the award for best wicket keeper in the 1983 World cup.

The multi faceted Syed Kirmani also had a small stint in the movies when he acted alongside his former team mate Sandeep Patel in a Hindi feature film.