Adiyeri Ponnambath Mambilly Gopalakrishnan (born 3 January 1947) is a former Indian

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

er who played at first-class level for

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

from 1969 to 1972. He was a right-handed

batsman In cricket, batting is the act or skill of hitting the cricket ball, ball with a cricket bat, bat to score runs (cricket), runs and prevent the dismissal (cricket), loss of one's wicket. Any player who is currently batting is, since Septembe ...

and right-arm

off-spin Off spin is a type of spin bowling in cricket. A bowler who uses this technique is called an off spinner. Off spinners bowl with their right-arm and a finger spin action. Their normal delivery is called an off break, which spins from left to ...

ner. Gopalakrishnan was born in Tellicherry (now

Thalassery Thalassery () (also called Tellicherry) is a city and municipality on the Malabar Coast in Kannur district in the state of Kerala, India, bordered by the districts of Mahe and Kozhikode. Thalassery municipality has a population of just under ...

), in what was then part of the

Madras Presidency The Madras Presidency or Madras Province, officially called the Presidency of Fort St. George until 1937, was an administrative subdivision (province) of British India and later the Dominion of India. At its greatest extent, the presidency i ...

but is now in

Kerala State Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

.Gopalakrishnan
– CricketArchive. Retrieved 21 July 2015. He made his

Ranji Trophy The Ranji Trophy is a premier domestic first-class cricket championship played in India and organized annually by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). The teams representing regional and state cricket associations participate. BCCI ...

debut for Kerala in August 1969, against

Andhra Andhra Pradesh (ISO: , , AP) is a state on the east coast of southern India. It is the seventh-largest state and the tenth-most populous in the country. Telugu is the most widely spoken language in the state, as well as its official lang ...

, and went on to play three more matches during the 1969–70 season.First-class matches played by Gopalakrishnan
– CricketArchive. Retrieved 21 July 2015. In the final two matches of his debut season, he recorded what were to be the two highest scores of his first-class career – 29 not out against

Mysore Mysore ( ), officially Mysuru (), is a city in the southern Indian state of Karnataka. It is the headquarters of Mysore district and Mysore division. As the traditional seat of the Wadiyar dynasty, the city functioned as the capital of the ...

, from ninth in the batting order, and then 33 against

Madras Chennai, also known as Madras ( its official name until 1996), is the capital and largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state of India. It is located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. According to the 2011 Indian ce ...

, after being promoted to sixth. Gopalakrishnan had little batting success in the two other Ranji seasons he played for Kerala. During the 1970–71 season, he appeared in three matches, but recorded three

ducks Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family (biology), family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and goose, geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfam ...

to finish with only two runs from five innings, at an

average In colloquial, ordinary language, an average is a single number or value that best represents a set of data. The type of average taken as most typically representative of a list of numbers is the arithmetic mean the sum of the numbers divided by ...

of 0.40. Gopalakrishnan was not selected at all the following season, but returned for three matches during the 1972–73 season, where his three matches yielding 19 runs from five innings. Gopalakrishnan's father, P. M. Anandan, and uncle, P. M. Raghavan, both played at first-class level for Travancore-Cochin, Kerala's predecessor. Two of his cousins, brothers P. M. K. Raghunath and

P. M. K. Mohandas Ponnambath Mambally Krishnan Mohandas (31 January 1948 – 17 October 2004) was an Indian cricketer who played at first-class level for Kerala during the 1972–73 season. He was a right-handed batsman and right-arm medium-fast bowler. Mohandas ...

, played for Kerala in the 1970s, with Mohandas and Gopalakrishnan playing several matches together. Outside of playing cricket, the family have been prominent in the baking trade in Kerala. In 2013, Gopalakrishnan was one of sixteen ex-Ranji players who received a one-off endowment from the

Kerala Cricket Association The Kerala Cricket Association (KCA) is the governing body of the game of cricket in Kerala, India. It is affiliated to the Board of Control for Cricket in India and governs the Kerala cricket team, as well as the Kerala Cricket League. KCA ...

in recognition of their service during the sport's amateur period. After retiring from playing, he had been the

match referee A match referee is an official appointed to oversee professional cricket matches. Match referees for Test matches and One Day Internationals are appointed by the International Cricket Council (ICC). Most matches below international level do not ...

for a Ranji game between

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

and

Orissa Odisha (), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is a state located in Eastern India. It is the eighth-largest state by area, and the eleventh-largest by population, with over 41 million inhabitants. The state also has the thir ...

during the 1997–98 season, in what was his only recorded appearance as a match official in a high-level game.Gopalakrishnan as referee in first-class matches
– CricketArchive. Retrieved 21 July 2015.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gopalakrishnan, A. P. M. 1947 births Living people Indian cricketers Kerala cricketers Sportspeople from Thalassery Cricketers from Kerala