Rusi Surti

Rusi Surti

Personal information
Full name	Rusi Framroze Surti
Born	(1936-05-25)25 May 1936 Surat, Gujarat, India
Died	13 January 2013(2013-01-13) (aged 76) Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Nickname	Poor man's Sobers[1]
Batting	Left-hand bat
Bowling	Left-arm medium
International information
National side	India
Test debut	2 December 1960 v Pakistan
Last Test	4 November 1969 v Australia
Domestic team information
Years	Team
1956–1967	Gujarat
1960–1961	Rajasthan
1968–1972	Queensland
Career statistics
Competition Tests First-class Matches 26 160 Runs scored 1263 8066 Batting average 28.70 30.90 100s/50s 0/9 6/53 Top score 99 246* Balls bowled 3870 19,515 Wickets 42 284 Bowling average 46.71 37.07 5 wickets in innings 1 10 10 wickets in match 0 0 Best bowling 5/74 5/42 Catches/stumpings 26/- 122/-
Source: CricketArchive, 13 January 2013

Rusi Framroze (pronunciation (help·info) 25 May 1936 – 13 January 2013)^[2] was an Indian cricketer who played in 26 Tests from 1960 to 1969. He was a left arm medium pace and left arm spin bowler, and a lower order batsman. Surti was also a popular professional for Haslingden in the Lancashire League in 1959.

After an uneventful Test debut against Pakistan at Bombay, Surti impressed in his second Test match with an innings of 64 at New Delhi. He had been promoted up the order to number 3. India toured the West Indies in 1962 and Surti made 246 runs in the series. In 1967/68 they toured Australia and New Zealand, and after various first class fixtures and the Tests he made 967 runs at 37.19 and took 42 wickets. In the Tests he made 688 runs at an average of 45.50 with 22 wickets. At Auckland he was dismissed for his highest Test score of 99. He was the first Indian player to score a fifty and take five wickets in the same Test match against Australia.

In the Ranji Trophy he played for Rajasthan and Gujarat, with his highest score being 246 not out for Rajasthan against Uttar Pradesh in 1959/60. Surti later played for Queensland in the Sheffield Shield, Australia's domestic first-class competition. He became the first and only Indian Test player to play in the Sheffield Shield. When he retired, Surti decided to become an Australian and stayed in Queensland, working as a cricket coach for another 35 years.^[3]

In 2013, while on a routine trip to Mumbai, Surti had a stroke and Indian cricket’s original braveheart died, aged 76.^[3]

References[]

External links[]

• Rusi Surti's Cricinfo page