Kripal Singh was the finest of all cricketers to emerge from the Singh clan of Madras. He made his mark with a hundred on Test debut, but the remainder of his 14-Test career fetched him 322 runs at 21. In the end his numbers read 422 runs at 28.
Kripal was the son of Ram Singh, the patriarch of the family who was left out of the 1936 tour of England due thanks to some mysterious zonal ‘quota’ policy. While Kripal became the first in the family to play Test cricket, his brother Milkha became the second (Satwender, a third brother, also played for Madras).
Making full use of his height, Kripal used his feet to great effects, and was extremely versatile when it came to strokeplay. He was also a useful off-spinner, a brilliant slip fielder, and at domestic level, a shrewd captain. In a Ranji Trophy match of 1964-65, he gave VV Kumar (a domestic giant) a mere 2 overs, as he thought the pitch suited off-spinners more; Kripal and Venkataraghavan shared 15 wickets, bowling out Mysore for 46 and 94.
In all First-Class cricket Kripal’s numbers read 4,939 runs at 41 and 177 wickets at 28. He played a crucial role in Madras’ maiden Ranji Trophy title, especially in the semi-final against Bengal. He scored 98 and 97 (in a team score of 139 including 12 extras), and took 4 for 18 in the fourth innings.
The final clashed with his board examination, but Kripal somehow convinced BCCI to change the date of the final. He scored 75 and 91, and took 7 for 213 in the match. His 636 runs at 106, 13 wickets at 25, and 9 catches were instrumental in Madras’ title.
He had a few odd records, including bowling most balls (651) to take his maiden Test wicket; in all he got 10 Test wickets at 58. He fielded as substitute for England in the Bombay Test of 1964-65; and he became the first Test cricketer to change his religion (to Christianity) in his active days. He changed his first two names to Arnold George from Amritsar Govindsingh, thus keeping his initials intact.
He was also the roommate who called the Imperial Hotel receptionist, thus ending the Test career of Subhash Gupte, albeit inadvertently.
Kripal later served Madras cricket as Chairman of Selectors. He drove from ground to ground during his tenure, scouting for young talents. He later became a national selector.
He passed away at 53. His sons Arjan and Swaran also played First-Class cricket.
Abhishek Mukherjee
Career | M | In | R | NO | HS | Avg | BF | SR | 100s | 50s | 4s | 6s | Ct | St |
Test | 14 | 20 | 422 | 5 | 100* | 28.13 | -- | -- | 1 | 2 | 24 | -- | 4 | 0 |
ODIs | 0 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | |
T20s | 0 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | |
World Cup | 0 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Career | M | B | R | W | Avg | EC | SR | 5WI | 10WM | BBI | BBM |
Test | 14 | 1518 | 584 | 10 | 58.40 | 2.308 | 151 | 0 | 0 | 3/43 | 3/90 |
ODIs | 0 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
T20s | 0 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
World Cup | 0 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Test Debut
India v New Zealand at Lal Bahadur Shastri Stadium, Hyderabad, November 19, 1955
Last Test
India v Australia at Nehru Stadium, Madras, October 2, 1964
Milkha Singh scored the first hundred in Duleep Trophy history, but is unfortunately remembered as the brother of Kripal Singh.
Kripal Singh hailed from the famous Sikh cricket family of Madras.
Players from five religions played a Test against England at Bombay in 1961-62.
A look back at one of the greatest solo performances in the history of the tournament: Kripal Singh scored 98 and 97 (out of 139), and ...
Everyone is scared of injuries, and the list is too long to be dealt with.
04 Mar, 2021 09:30 IST
Narendra Modi Stadium, Motera, Ahmedabad
West Indies vs Sri Lanka - 1st T20I
04 Mar, 2021 03:30 IST
Coolidge Cricket Ground, Antigua
West Indies vs Sri Lanka - 2nd T20I
06 Mar, 2021 03:30 IST
Coolidge Cricket Ground, Antigua
West Indies vs Sri Lanka - 3rd T20I
08 Mar, 2021 03:30 IST
Coolidge Cricket Ground, Antigua
New Zealand vs Australia - 5th T20I
07 Mar, 2021 08:30 IST
Bay Oval, Mount Maunganui
New Zealand vs Australia - 3rd T20I
03 Mar, 2021 11:30 IST
Westpac Stadium, Wellington
New Zealand vs Australia - 4th T20I
05 Mar, 2021 11:30 IST
Eden Park, Auckland
Afghanistan vs Zimbabwe - 1st Test
02 Mar, 2021 11:30 IST
Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Afghanistan vs Zimbabwe - 2nd Test
10 Mar, 2021 11:30 IST
Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi
West Indies vs Sri Lanka - 1st ODI
10 Mar, 2021 19:00 IST
Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, Antigua
West Indies vs Sri Lanka - 2nd ODI
12 Mar, 2021 19:00 IST
Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, Antigua
West Indies vs Sri Lanka - 3rd ODI
14 Mar, 2021 23:00 IST
Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, Antigua
New Zealand vs Australia - 3rd T20I
03 Mar, 2021 11:30 IST | 06:00 GMT
Westpac Stadium, Wellington
04 Mar, 2021 09:30 IST | 04:00 GMT
Narendra Modi Stadium, Motera, Ahmedabad
New Zealand vs Australia - 4th T20I
05 Mar, 2021 11:30 IST | 06:00 GMT
Eden Park, Auckland
New Zealand vs Australia - 5th T20I
07 Mar, 2021 08:30 IST | 03:00 GMT
Bay Oval, Mount Maunganui
12 Mar, 2021 19:00 IST | 13:30 GMT
Sardar Patel Stadium, Motera, Ahmedabad
New Zealand vs Australia - 2nd T20I
New Zealand beat Australia by 4 runs
India beat England by 10 wickets
New Zealand vs Australia - 1st T20I
New Zealand beat Australia by 53 runs
India beat England by 317 runs
Pakistan vs South Africa - 3rd T20I
Pakistan beat South Africa by 4 wickets