WinifredMontero at 20:21, 16 February 2026

2026-02-16T20:21:50Z

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{{Short description|Indian Cricketer}}
{{Use Indian English|date=July 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2020}}
{{Infobox cricketer
| name = B. S. Chandrasekhar
| image =
| fullname = Bhagwat Subramanya Chandrasekhar
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1945|05|17}}
| birth_place = [[Mysore]], [[Kingdom of Mysore]], [[British India]]
| death_date =
| death_place =
| nickname = Chandra
| height = 170 cm
| batting = Right-handed
| bowling = Legbreak
| role = Bowler
| family =
| heightinch =
| heightcm =
| international = true
| country = India
| testcap = 106
| testdebutagainst = England
| testdebutdate = 21 January
| testdebutyear = 1964
| lasttestagainst = England
| lasttestdate = 12 July
| lasttestyear = 1979
| odicap = 20
| odidebutagainst = New Zealand
| odidebutdate = 22 February
| odidebutyear = 1976
| odishirt =
| oneodi = true
| club1 =
| year1 =
| clubnumber1 =
| year2 =
| club2 =
| clubnumber2 =
| year3 =
| club3 =
| clubnumber3 =
| year4 =
| club4 =
| clubnumber4 =
| columns = 4
| column1 = [[Test cricket|Test]]
| column2 = [[One Day International|ODI]]
| column3 = [[First-class cricket|FC]]
| column4 = [[List A cricket|LA]]
| matches1 = 58
| matches2 = 1
| matches3 = 246
| matches4 = 7
| runs1 = 167
| runs2 = 11
| runs3 = 600
| runs4 = 25
| bat avg1 = 4.07
| bat avg2 = –
| bat avg3 = 4.61
| bat avg4 = 25.00
| 100s/50s1 = 0/0
| 100s/50s2 = 0/0
| 100s/50s3 = 0/0
| 100s/50s4 = 0/0
| top score1 = 22
| top score2 = 11[[Not out|*]]
| top score3 = 25
| top score4 = 14[[Not out|*]]
| deliveries1 = 15,963
| deliveries2 = 56
| deliveries3 = 53,817
| deliveries4 = 420
| wickets1 = 242
| wickets2 = 3
| wickets3 = 1,063
| wickets4 = 8
| bowl avg1 = 29.74
| bowl avg2 = 12.00
| bowl avg3 = 24.03
| bowl avg4 = 38.87
| fivefor1 = 16
| fivefor2 = 0
| fivefor3 = 75
| fivefor4 = 0
| tenfor1 = 2
| tenfor2 = 0
| tenfor3 = 19
| tenfor4 = 0
| best bowling1 = 8/79
| best bowling2 = 3/36
| best bowling3 = 9/72
| best bowling4 = 4/61
| catches/stumpings1 = 25/–
| catches/stumpings2 = 0/–
| catches/stumpings3 = 107/–
| catches/stumpings4 = 1/–
| source = http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/content/player/27591.html ESPNcricinfo
| date = 10 November
| year = 2014
}}

'''Bhagwat Subramanya Chandrasekhar''' (informally '''Chandra'''; born 17 May 1945) is an Indian former [[cricket]]er who played as a [[leg spin]]ner. Considered among the top echelon of leg spinners, Chandrasekhar along with [[E.A.S. Prasanna]], [[Bishen Singh Bedi]] and [[Srinivasaraghavan Venkataraghavan]] constituted the [[Indian spin quartet]] that dominated spin bowling during the 1960s and 1970s.<ref name=rajesh>{{cite web|title=When spin was king|url=http://www.espncricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/531827.html|publisher=ESPNcricinfo|access-date=8 February 2014|author=S Rajesh|date=12 September 2011}}</ref> At a very young age, [[Poliomyelitis|polio]] left his right arm withered. Chandrasekhar played 58 Test matches, capturing 242 wickets at an average of 29.74 in a career that spanned sixteen years.<ref name=rajesh/> He is one of only two test cricketers in history with more wickets than total runs scored, the other being [[Chris Martin (cricketer)|Chris Martin.]]

Chandrasekhar was awarded the [[Padmashri]] in 1972.<ref>{{cite web|title=Padma Awards Directory (1954-2011) |url=http://www.mha.nic.in/pdfs/LST-PDAWD.pdf |publisher=[[Ministry of Home Affairs (India)|Ministry of Home Affairs]] |access-date=18 April 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130510095705/http://www.mha.nic.in/pdfs/LST-PDAWD.pdf |archive-date=10 May 2013 }}</ref> He was named as a [[Wisden Cricketer of the Year|''Wisden'' Cricketer of the Year]] in 1972; in 2002 he won ''Wisden'''s award for "Best bowling performance of the century" for India, for his six wickets for 38 runs against England at the Oval in 1971.<ref name="WisdenICoC">{{cite news | url=http://www.tssonnet.com/tss2531/25310120.htm | title=This is my finest hour: Kapil Dev | work=[[The Sportstar]] Vol. 25 No. 31 | date=8 March 2002 | access-date=8 February 2014 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060514214418/http://www.tssonnet.com/tss2531/25310120.htm | archive-date=14 May 2006 | url-status=usurped }}</ref> He received the [[C. K. Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award]] in 2004, the highest honour bestowed by [[Board of Control for Cricket in India|BCCI]] on a former player.<ref name=":5">{{Cite news |date=2013-12-18 |title=C.K. Nayudu award for Kapil Dev |language=en-IN |work=The Hindu |url=https://www.thehindu.com/sport/cricket/ck-nayudu-award-for-kapil-dev/article5474173.ece |access-date=2023-04-25 |issn=0971-751X}}</ref>

==Biography==
Chandrasekhar was born in 1945 in [[Mysore]], where he had his primary education.<ref name=raggie>{{cite web|last=Muddie|first=Raggi|title=The Spin Wizard – B S Chandrashekhar|url=http://www.karnataka.com/personalities/bs-chandrashekhar/|publisher=Karnataka.com|access-date=14 April 2013|date=27 September 2011}}</ref> He developed an early interest in cricket watching the playing styles of Australian leg spinner [[Richie Benaud]]. An attack of polio at the age of six left his right arm withered. At the age of 10, his hand had recovered and Chandrasekhar started playing cricket.<ref name=raggie/>

By that time his family relocated to [[Bangalore]] and he got an opportunity to play for "City Cricketers".<ref name=raggie/> In an interview, Chandrasekhar stated that he joined up mainly to get a chance to play with the leather ball.<ref name=raggie/> While playing on the streets of Bangalore, he had mainly used a rubber ball. While playing for the club, Chandrasekhar tried different bowling styles that also included fast bowling.<ref name=raggie/> It was in 1963 that he decided to play as a leg spin bowler. His idea proved to be right as he was soon selected for the national team.<ref name=raggie/>

Making his Test debut for India against England at Bombay in 1964, he collected four wickets in the match. He was named the ''[[Indian Cricket (annual)|Indian Cricket]]'' Cricketer of the Year the same year. Chandrasekhar was influential in setting up India's first victory in England when he picked up six wickets for 38 runs at [[The Oval]] in 1971; the bowling was named the "Indian Bowling performance of the century" by ''Wisden'' in 2002.<ref name=profile>{{cite web|title=Players / India / Bhagwath Chandrasekhar|url=http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/content/player/27591.html|publisher=ESPNcricinfo|access-date=14 April 2013|author=H Natarajan}}</ref> ''Wisden'' noted that he was "wonderfully accurate for a bowler of his type, and his extra pace made him a formidable proposition even on the sluggish Oval pitch."<ref name=martin>{{cite web|last=Williamson|first=Martin|title=India's day of glory|url=http://www.espncricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/527248.html|publisher=ESPNcricinfo|access-date=14 April 2013|date=13 August 2011}}</ref> His consistent bowling performances in 1971 earned him being named one of the five ''[[Wisden Cricketers' Almanack|Wisden]]'' [[Wisden Cricketer of the Year|Cricketers of the Year]] in 1972.<ref name=profile/>

In a Test against New Zealand in 1976, Chandrasekhar and Prasanna took 19 wickets and were crucial in setting up India's win. Attributed to him is a famous umpire-directed quote, made during a day of bad decisions in New Zealand after several of his [[leg before wicket|lbw]] appeals were given not out: "I know he is bowled, but is he out?"<ref>{{citation | url=http://www.merinews.com/catFull.jsp?articleID=129115 | title=India's Aussie tour: Sissy Australians and dumb umpires | periodical=Merinews | date=6 January 2008 | access-date=26 August 2009 | archive-date=9 November 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201109001955/http://www.merinews.com/catFull.jsp?articleID=129115 | url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{citation | url=http://www.rediff.com/sports/1999/oct/23dilip.htm | title=Nothing to Crowe about | author=Dilip Vengsarkar | periodical=Rediff | date=23 October 1999}}</ref> Chandrasekhar also played a major role in India's victory in Australia in 1977–78.<ref name=rajesh/> During that series he became the first bowler to register identical figures in each innings of a test (6 for 52).<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.cricketcountry.com/articles/steve-okeefe-turns-india-australia-test-into-a-cricket-statisticians-delight-580461|title=Steve O'Keefe turns India-Australia Test into a cricket statistician's delight|last=Kumar|first=Abhishek|date=25 February 2017|work=Cricket Country|access-date=29 March 2017|language=en-us}}</ref>

Chandrasekhar had minimal batting skills, finishing with a Test average of 4.07.<ref name="Beard">{{cite book |title=Ask Bearders |last=Frindall |first=Bill |author-link=Bill Frindall |year=2009 |publisher=[[BBC Books]]|isbn=978-1-84607-880-4 |pages=44–45 }}</ref> He was given a special Gray-Nicholls bat during the [[Indian cricket team in Australia in 1977–78|1977–78 Australian tour]] with a hole in it to commemorate the four ducks he scored,<ref>{{cite news|last=Hanon|first=Peter|title=Polio clean bowled|url=http://www.theage.com.au/sport/cricket/polio-clean-bowled-20111111-1nbil.html|access-date=18 April 2013|newspaper=[[The Age]]|date=12 November 2011}}</ref> and he has 23 Test ducks to his credit.<ref>{{cite web|title=Records / Test matches / Batting records / Most ducks in career|url=http://stats.espncricinfo.com/ci/content/records/283087.html|publisher=ESPNcricinfo|access-date=18 April 2013}}</ref> He also holds the dubious distinction of scoring fewer runs (167) off his bat than wickets (242) taken in Test cricket;<ref name="Beard"/> the only other cricketer with this distinction over a significant Test career is [[New Zealand national cricket team|New Zealand]] fast bowler [[Chris Martin (cricketer)|Chris Martin]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Hughes' familiar problem, and Steyn's wickets|url=http://www.espncricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/546146.html|publisher=ESPNcricinfo|access-date=18 April 2013|author=Steven Lynch|date=20 December 2011}}</ref>

==Honours and recognitions==
* ''[[Indian Cricket (annual)|Indian Cricket]]'' Cricketer of the Year in 1964
* [[Wisden Cricketers of the Year|''Wisden'' Cricketers of the Year]] in 1972
* [[Padmashri]] in 1972<ref>{{cite web|title=Padma Awards Directory (1954-2011) |url=http://www.mha.nic.in/pdfs/LST-PDAWD.pdf |publisher=[[Ministry of Home Affairs (India)|Ministry of Home Affairs]] |access-date=18 April 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130510095705/http://www.mha.nic.in/pdfs/LST-PDAWD.pdf |archive-date=10 May 2013 }}</ref>
* [[Arjuna Award]] in 1972<ref>{{cite web|title=List of Arjuna Award Winners |url=http://yas.nic.in/yasroot/awards/arjuna.htm |publisher=[[Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports]] |access-date=18 April 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071225221945/http://yas.nic.in/yasroot/awards/arjuna.htm |archive-date=25 December 2007 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
* [[C. K. Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award|C. K. Nayudu Award]] in 2004<ref name=":5" />

==See also==
* [[List of international cricket five-wicket hauls by B. S. Chandrasekhar]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{ESPNcricinfo|id=27591}}
*{{cite web|url=http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/content/story/91043.html|date=18 May 2000|title =Chandra: The man who made the 'King' his bunny|author=S Jagadish|work=Cricinfo }}
*{{cite web|url=https://www.lords.org/lords/our-history/honours-boards/b-s-chandrasekhar/5-127|title =Leg spinner Chandrasekhar: bowled a marathon spell of 53 overs to pick up figures of 5-127, playing a major role in bowling England out for 386.}}

{{Padma Shri Award Recipients in Sports}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chandrasekhar, Bhagwat}}
[[Category:1945 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:India One Day International cricketers]]
[[Category:India Test cricketers]]
[[Category:Indian cricketers]]
[[Category:Karnataka cricketers]]
[[Category:South Zone cricketers]]
[[Category:International Cavaliers cricketers]]
[[Category:Wisden Cricketers of the Year]]
[[Category:Cricketers from Mysore]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Arjuna Award]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Padma Shri in sports]]

B. S. Chandrasekhar - Revision history

WinifredMontero at 20:21, 16 February 2026