Dodda Narasiah Ganesh (; born 30 June 1973) is a former

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

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 in 4

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and one ODI in 1997. He was a right-arm seam bowler and lower-order batsman. Ganesh failed to make an impression in his limited Test opportunities, picking up just five wickets at an average of 57.40. In first-class cricket, he took 365 wickets from 104 matches, including 299 at 27.09 for his domestic team

Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...

Early career

Dodda Ganesh started as a wicket-keeper and an opening batsman. His idols while growing up were K. N. Ananthapadmanabhan, the Kerala wicket-keeper, and India's World Cup-winning wicket-keeper Syed Kirmani. Gundappa Viswanath spotted his bowling talent and enrolled him at the Chikna club. Early days he played in the streets of Balehonnur, where he played with the likes of Ismail. Frustrated with the lack of opportunities, he shifted to AV Jayaprakash's training camp, where he prospered as a bowler and was forced his way into the

side.

Domestic career

The 1990s was the golden era for Karnataka cricket. Despite making his debut in the 1994–95 season, Ganesh could not get a permanent slot in the

team due to the presence of

Javagal Srinath Javagal Srinath (, born 31 August 1969) is a former Indian cricketer and currently an ICC match referee. He is considered among India's finest fast bowlers and is the only Indian fast bowler till date to have taken more than 300 wickets in O ...

, Venkatesh Prasad,

Anil Kumble Anil Kumble (; born 17 October 1970) is a former Indian cricketer, captain, coach and commentator who played Test cricket, Test and One Day International cricket for his national team over an international career of 18 years. A right-arm leg sp ...

and Sunil Joshi. In the 1996–97 Irani Cup, he picked up 11 wickets, including V. V. S. Laxman and Navjot Singh Sidhu, and he stormed into national reckoning for the tour of South Africa.

International career

Ganesh made his international debut in the 2nd Test against

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. He bowled 24 overs in the first innings without success. He took his first Test wicket in the second innings when he trapped Gary Kirsten leg before wicket. India suffered a huge defeat in this game. He kept his place for the next Test at

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. He just bowled nine overs in the game, as South Africa hung on for a draw. Despite not having a brilliant tour, he was selected for the 1997 tour of the

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. During the 3rd Test at

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, he picked up four wickets, including Carl Hooper, in both innings. Despite having only 120 runs to chase,

stumbled in the 2nd innings to be all out for 81. Ganesh played one more rain-affected Test at

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Later career

Ganesh returned to the Karnataka side and became the team's bowling mainstay. Over a long career from 1994–95 to 2005–06, he took 365 wickets. His best bowling figures were 7 for 36 (12 for 89 in the match) against

Haryana Haryana () is a States and union territories of India, state located in the northern part of India. It was carved out after the linguistic reorganisation of Punjab, India, Punjab on 1 November 1966. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with les ...

in 2002–03. His batting became more valuable over the years. In 2002-03 he scored 536 runs at an average of 41.23, including his only century, 119 against

Vidarbha Vidarbha (Pronunciation: Help:IPA/Marathi, �id̪əɾbʱə is a geographical region in the west Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Forming the eastern part of the state, it comprises Amravati Division, Amrav ...

After cricket

Dodda Ganesh has expressed an interest in politics and joined

Janata Dal (Secular) {{Infobox Indian Political Party , party_name = Janata Dal (Secular) , party_logo = , colorcode = {{party color, Janata Dal (Secular) , abbreviation = JD(S) , president = H. D. Deve Gowda , founder ...

led by former

Prime Minister of India The prime minister of India (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the head of government of the Republic of India. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and his chosen Union Council of Ministers, Council of Ministers, despite the president of ...

H. D. Deve Gowda. He took up the position of coach of

Goa Goa (; ; ) is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is bound by the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north, and Karnataka to the ...

in 2012–13. In October 2016, he participated as a contestant on the Bigg Boss Kannada 4, and survived for two weeks. In September 2024, he was removed as the head coach of the

Kenya national cricket team The Kenya men's national cricket team represents the Republic of Kenya in international cricket. Kenya is an associate member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) which has Twenty20 International (T20I) status after the ICC granted T20I ...

a month after his appointment due to procedural irregularities. He was replaced by Lameck Onyango

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ganesh, Dodda 1973 births Indian cricketers India One Day International cricketers India Test cricketers Karnataka cricketers South Zone cricketers Living people Cricketers from Bengaluru