Hyderabad (Telangana) [India]: Former India cricketers Ravi Shastri and Farokh Engineer were awarded the prestigious Col CK Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award on Tuesday during the Naman Awards.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) President Roger Binny and BCCI Secretary Jay Shah presented the award to Shastri and Farokh.
In Shastri’s international cricket career which panned from 1981 to 1992, Shastri served as a highly useful all-rounder, capable of playing any role for his team and grinding it out in tough situations. He often played as an opener or in the middle order while batting and could deliver some crucial overs of left-arm spin too.
Shastri had a solid Test record. In 80 Test matches, he scored 3,830 runs at an average of 35.79. He scored 11 centuries and 12 fifties in 121 innings of his career, with the best individual score of 206. The all-rounder also has taken 151 wickets, with best bowling figures of 5/75.
Shastri is part of the team which won the 50-over Cricket World Cup in 1983. In the tournament, he scored 40 runs in five innings, with the best score of 17 and took a total of four wickets, with the best bowling spell of 3/26.
Another career-defining moment came for Shastri in 1985 when he played a big role in his team’s win at the World Championship of Cricket, defeating arch-rivals Pakistan in the final.
Shastri won the ‘Man of the Tournament’ award for scoring 182 runs in five matches at an average of 45.50, with three fifties. He also took eight wickets, finishing as the joint-third-highest wicket-taker.
After the conclusion of his international cricket career in 1992, he was heard as a commentator. His authoritative voice, enthusiasm and knowledge of the game make him one of the country’s most beloved commentators. His calls during India’s winning moments in T20 World Cup 2007 and ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 still live in the minds of millions.
On the other hand, Farokh was well known for his craftmanship with the bat and agility behind the stumps. His skillset made him best suited for keeping to the legendary spin quartet of Bedi, Prasanna, Chandrasekhar and Venkataraghavan.
Farokh during his career played 46 Test matches for India and amassed 2611 runs which included two centuries and 16 half-centuries.
His most memorable moment as a batsman was against West Indies at Madras in 1966-67. He scored 94 before lunch on the first day against the iconic pacers Wes Hall, Charles Griffith, Gary Sobers and spinner Richard Gibbs.
The list of award winners includes Lala Amarnath, Syed Mushtaq Ali, Vijay Hazare, Bishan Singh Bedi, Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev and many more.
