Ponnabeth Mambally Raghavan (18 December 1920, date of death unknown) was an Indian cricketer who played at first-class level for Travancore-Cochin (now Kerala) from 1951 to 1956. A right-handed batsman and right-arm medium-pace bowler, he captained the side in its inaugural

Ranji Trophy The Ranji Trophy (also known as Mastercard Ranji Trophy for sponsorship reasons) is a domestic first-class cricket championship played in India between multiple teams representing regional and state cricket associations. Board of Control for Cr ...

match during the 1951–52 season. Raghavan was born in Tellicherry (now Thalassery), in what was then part of the

Madras Presidency The Madras Presidency, or the Presidency of Fort St. George, also known as Madras Province, was an administrative subdivision (presidency) of British India. At its greatest extent, the presidency included most of southern India, including the ...

but is now in

Kerala State Kerala ( ; ) is a 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 regions of Cochin, Malabar, South Cana ...

.Ponnabeth Raghavan
– CricketArchive. Retrieved 21 July 2015. In December 1951, aged 30, he was chosen to captain the new

State of Travancore-Cochin State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

in its Ranji Trophy debut against Mysore (now Karnataka). Although Raghavan topscored with 27 in the second innings, his team lost by an innings and 87 runs, and was consequently eliminated from the competition, which was played on a knockout basis at the time. He was re-appointed captain for the following season's Ranji fixture, where his team once again lost by an innings margin within two days. During the 1953–54 season, Travancore-Cochin was drawn to play Hyderabad in the opening round. Raghavan was selected to play, but was replaced as captain by his younger brother,

P. M. Anandan Ponnabeth Mambally Anandan (born 1 December 1924) is an Indian former cricketer who played first-class cricket from 1951 to 1957. Anandan was an opening bowler who made his first-class debut in 1951–52 in what was also Travancore-Cochin's ...

. The match was drawn, but Travancore-Cochin was declared the winner based on its higher first innings total, and consequently proceeded to the next round of matches. Despite this, Raghavan was restored to the captaincy for the second-round fixture against Madras (now Tamil Nadu). He took career-best bowling figures of 2/43 in Madras's second innings, but Travancore-Cochin lost by 316 runs. Anandan once again replaced Raghavan as captain for the 1954–55 season's first-round fixture, a loss to Madras on first innings. Raghavan's fourth and final match as captain of Travancore-Cochin came the following season, in what was to be his final first-class appearance. Aged 35, he recorded a duck in the first innings against Andhra and was absent hurt in the second, as his team succumbed to an innings defeat. Besides his young brother, Anandan, several others members of Raghavan's family represented what is now Kerala at first-class level, including his son, A. P. M. Gopalakrishnan, and two nephews, brothers

P. M. K. Raghunath Ponnambath Mambally Krishnan Raghunath (10 October 1950 – 14 January 2016) was an Indian cricketer who played at first-class level for Kerala during the 1970s. He was a right-arm medium-pace bowler and right-handed batsman. Raghunath was bo ...

and P. M. K. Mohandas. Outside of playing cricket, the family have been prominent in the baking trade in Kerala.The History of Bestotel & Best Bakers
– Bestotel Best Bakers. Retrieved 21 July 2015.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Raghavan, P. M. 1920 births Year of death missing Cricketers from Kerala Indian cricketers Kerala cricketers People from Thalassery Travancore-Cochin cricketers