Surinder Khanna (; born 3 June 1956) is a former

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Associated with India * of or related to India ** Indian people ** Indian diaspora ** Languages of India ** Indian English, a dialect of the English language ** Indian cuisine Associated with indigenous peoples o ...

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. He played domestic cricket for

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...

and played ten

One Day International One Day International (ODI) is a format of cricket, played between two teams with international status, in which each team faces a fixed number of fifty overs, with the game lasting up to 7 hours. The World Cup, generally held every four yea ...

s for

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 ...

between 1979 and 1984. He was a

wicket-keeper In cricket, the wicket-keeper is the Cricket player, player on the fielding (cricket), fielding side who stands behind the wicket, ready to stop Delivery (cricket), deliveries that pass the batsman, and take a Caught, catch, Stumped, stump the ...

Born

Surinder Khanna was born at 3 June 1956 in the capital of India, Delhi.

Domestic career

Surinder Khanna played for

in the

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 ...

. He made his debut in 1976. A century in each innings (111 and 128) in the Ranji Trophy final against

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 ...

Bangalore Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore (List of renamed places in India#Karnataka, its official name until 1 November 2014), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the southern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kar ...

in 1978–79 brought Surinder Khanna into the limelight. That season, he scored 657 runs (73.00) to star in Delhi's maiden triumph in the national competition. A capable wicketkeeper and a dashing middle order batsman, Khanna was a tower of strength to Delhi for many years and played a leading role in their successes in the late 70s and early 80s.

International career

When the selectors decided to drop

Syed Kirmani Syed Mujtaba Hussain Kirmani (; born 29 December 1949) is an Indian cricketer who played cricket for India and Karnataka as a wicket-keeper. In 2016, he was awarded the Col CK Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award, the highest honour bestowed by B ...

for the tour of England in 1979, Khanna was given the big break. He was the designated wicket-keeper for India in the 1979 World Cup. He played without much success in all the three World Cup games and the Test place went to the other debutant Bharath Reddy. He did not enjoy a very good record in the first class games, scoring but 41 runs in six games (four innings). He was dropped from the Indian team after that. With Syed Kirmani and Bharath Reddy firmly entrenched as the two leading wicketkeepers in the country, Khanna's career seemed over. But he continued to do well for

and his natural style of play suited the ODI game. He was recalled back to the Indian team for the

1984 Asia Cup The 1984 Asia Cup (also known as the Rothmans Asia Cup) was the first edition of the Asia Cup. It was held in Sharjah, UAE, which was the location of the newly formed Asian Cricket Council. The new tournament was held between April 6–13, in 19 ...

held at

Sharjah Sharjah (; ', Gulf Arabic: ''aš-Šārja'') is the List of cities in the United Arab Emirates, third-most populous city in the United Arab Emirates, after Dubai and Abu Dhabi. It is the capital of the Emirate of Sharjah and forms part of the D ...

. He scored half centuries in low scoring encounters against

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

and

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

. India won the tournament and Khanna was named

Man of the Series In team sport, a player of the match award (also known as man of the match or woman of the match) is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chose ...

. He was a member of the Indian team that went to Pakistan in October the same year. He played in the first ODI in which India lost to Pakistan by 46 runs. He was dropped after this game and never made it back to the Indian team. He continued to pile on the runs for Delhi and eventually finished his career with over 5000 First Class runs. He achieved his highest score of 220 not out against

Himachal Pradesh Himachal Pradesh (; Sanskrit: ''himācāl prādes;'' "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a States and union territories of India, state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen Indian Himalayan ...

in 1987–88. Between 1991 and 1992 he was the professional for Stewarts Melville Royal High CC in Edinburgh. During the 1991 season he scored 1098 runs at an average of 91.5. Nowadays, he is visiting AIR (All India Radio) studios as a cricketing expert during the matches.

References

External links

* Delhi cricketers Indian cricketers 20th-century Indian sportsmen India One Day International cricketers North Zone cricketers 1956 births Living people Cricketers at the 1979 Cricket World Cup Wicket-keepers Cricketers from Delhi {{India-cricket-bio-stub