Parthasarathy Sharma, born January 5, 1948, was a talented all-rounder who was the lynchpin for Rajasthan and Central Zone for over two decades. Shiamak Unwalla looks at 10 interesting things to know about a man whose domestic talent failed to shine at the international level.
1. A man of many skills
Parthasarathy was an all-rounder in the truest sense of the word; he could bat anywhere, bowl medium-pace, and even keep wickets!
2. Impressing a legend
He was born in Alwar, Rajasthan. At a young age, he was said to have impressed the great Salim Durrani with his all-round talent, which led to a shockingly early First-Class debut.
3. Eventless First-Class debut
He made his Ranji Trophy debut in the early 1960s at the tender age of just 14. However, while Rajasthan beat Uttar Pradesh by an innings, he neither batted nor bowled, and didn’t even take a catch in the match. He would only become a regular in the side during the 1967-68 season.
4. Indian cricketer of the year
Such was his performance in the 1971-72 season for Rajasthan and Central Zone (whom he helped win the Duleep Trophy), that he was named the Indian cricketer of the year!
5. Encouraging Test debut
Injuries to Sunil Gavaskar and Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi ahead of the Delhi Test against the West Indies in December 1974 opened up the door to international cricket for Parthasarthy Sharma. Walking in to bat at a No. 5 with India 104 for three, he batted resolutely till, running out of partners, he attempted to go for quick runs and was the eighth man out for 54. He scored an attractive 49 in the second essay as well before getting run out.
6. Irani Trophy record
Batting for Rest of India against Bombay in 1977-78, he top-scored with an innings of 206, which was then Irani Trophy record for highest individual score.
7. Grossly under-utilised
Despite taking nearly 200 wickets in his First-Class career, he was criminally under-utilised by India with the ball; in seven international matches, he bowled a measly four overs for eight runs.
8. Mentor par excellence
Parthasarathy Sharma has been credited by Gautam Gambhir for having been instrumental in modifying his technique that led to a productive run in Tests. Rahul Dravid is also said to have fine-tuned his technique under Parthasarthy Sharma, who also guided young players such as Robin Uthappa, Suresh Raina, Piyush Chawla, and Amit Mishra during his stint with the National Cricket Academy (NCA).
9. Coaching his home team
In 2009, he took over the reins as Rajasthan coach from Manoj Prabhakar. Incidentally, Parthasarathy Sharma was the one who convinced Pankaj Singh — born in Uttar Pradesh — to come and play for Rajasthan. It was a move that paid rich dividends, as Pankaj has since been one of the mainstays of the Rajasthan team, frequently ending up as one of the leading wicket-takers in Ranji Trophy.
10. Unfortunate demise
He lost a battle with cancer, and passed away on October 20, 2010 at the age of 62.
(Shiamak Unwalla is a proud Whovian and all-round geek who also dabbles in cricket writing as a reporter with CricketCountry. His Twitter handle is @ShiamakUnwalla)
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