New Delhi. Many father-son pairs have represented the country in cricket. Talking about India, these include Lala Amarnath-Surinder Amarnath-Mohinder Amarnath, Sunil Gavaskar-Rohan Gavaskar, Pankaj Rai-Pranab Rai, Vinoo Mankad-Ashok Mankad, Roger Binny-Stuart Binny, Vijay Manjrekar-Sanjay Manjrekar and Yograj Singh-Yuvraj Singh etc. are prominent. There have been many cases in these pairs when the son cricketer could not achieve success like his father and after showing momentary shine, disappeared from the international cricket scene.
This ‘star son’ probably could not handle the pressure of expectations imposed on him due to the bright career of his father, who was rich in sports skills and his game disintegrated. Be it sports, cinema or any other field, it is common that any star son is compared with his celebrity father. They are expected to ‘perform’ like their father, which is not possible every time. Let us look at such cricketer father-son pairs, in which the son’s career was shorter and less successful than that of the father.
Sunil Gavaskar and Rohan Gavaskar
The name of Sunil Gavaskar needs no introduction. The achievements of this small batsman in the game of cricket are very ‘big’, that is why he is given a place among the best opening batsmen not only in India but in the world. ‘Senior Gavaskar’ scored 700 in the debut test series against West Indies. Had made a explosive start to his career by scoring more runs. In international cricket, fast bowlers like Michael Holding, Andy Roberts, Malcolm Marshall, Joel Gorner, Colin Craft, Dennis Lillee and Jeff Thomson were synonymous with fear with their speed but Gavaskar bowled them without wearing a helmet. Faced. Gavaskar was the first to break Sir Don Bradman’s record of 29 centuries in Test cricket. Not only this, Gavaskar was the first to reach the mark of 10 thousand runs in Test cricket. He scored 10122 runs (34 century) and ‘Sunny’ has 3092 runs (one century) in 108 ODIs at an average of 35.13.
Sunil’s son Rohan (Rohan Gavaskar) also played cricket for India but his journey came to an end after only 11 ODIs. Rohan used to bat and spin bowl with his left hand. In 11 ODIs, he scored 151 runs (highest 54) at an average of 18.87 and one wicket at an average of 74.00. However, Rohan’s record in first class cricket was impressive. Apart from scoring 6938 runs at an average of 44.19 in 117 first class matches, he also has 38 wickets in his name and 3157 runs at an average of 30.95 in 126 List A matches.
Vinoo Mankad and Ashok Mankad
Vinoo Mankad’s original name was Moolwant Rai Himmatlal Mankad, born in Jamnagar, Gujarat. Vinoo, a right-handed batsman and left-arm spinner, is considered the greatest all-rounder of Indian cricket after Kapil Dev. Two double centuries in Tests. He had also planted it. Vinoo, who opened the Indian innings with Pankaj Rai in many matches, had an excellent record with ball and bat. Apart from scoring 2109 runs (five centuries) in 44 Tests at an average of 31.47, he took 162 wickets at an average of 32.32. He achieved the feat of 10 or more wickets in a match twice in his career. In first class cricket, Vinoo scored 11591 runs in 233 matches and took 782 wickets.
Vinu’s three sons Ashok, Atul and Rahul played first class cricket but only Ashok could play international cricket. Ashok (Ashok Mankad) was considered the best batsman of domestic cricket and he scored about 13 thousand runs at an average of 50 in first class cricket. But he was not very successful in international cricket. Ashok Mankad scored 991 runs (six half-centuries) in 22 Tests at an average of 25.41 and only 44 runs in one ODI at an average of 44.41.
Pankaj Roy and Pranab Roy
Vinoo Mankad and Pankaj Roy were once considered the most reliable opening pair of India. The record of the biggest partnership (413 runs) for the first wicket in Test cricket was in the name of both of them. The partnership record of these two made against New Zealand in Chennai in the year 1956 was broken after 52 years by the South African pair of Neil McKenzie and Graeme Smith (415 runs). Pankaj Roy, who plays for Bengal in domestic cricket. Played 43 Tests for India and scored 2442 runs (five centuries) at an average of 32.56. He also has more than 11 thousand runs in his name in first class cricket.
Pankaj’s son Pranab Roy also played cricket for India as an opener but could play only two tests. He scored 71 runs in two tests at an average of 35.50, of which 60 not out was the highest score.Roger Binny and Stuart Binny
Apart from Roger Binny, who is currently holding the post of BCCI President, his son Stuart has also played for India. While Roger, a member of the 1983 World Champion Indian team, had a long international career, Stuart disappeared after showing a momentary shine. Both of them used to bat right handed and bowl medium fast. Apart from taking 47 wickets at an average of 32.63 for India, Roger scored 830 runs (five fifties) at an average of 23.05 in 27 Tests, while in 72 ODIs, he has 77 wickets at an average of 29.35 and 629 runs at an average of 16.12. In the World Cup 1983, Roger took the maximum of 18 wickets.
Like Roger, Stuart was also an all-rounder but could play only six Tests, 14 ODIs and three T20Is. However, despite this short career, the second best bowling analysis from India in ODIs (6 wickets for four runs, vs Bangladesh, 2014) is in the name of Stuart. During the World Cup 2023 itself, Mohammed Shami (7 wickets for 57 runs, vs New Zealand ) has left behind this record of Stuart. 194 runs and three wickets in Test, 230 runs and 20 wickets in ODI and 35 runs and one wicket in T20 are in the name of ‘Junior Binny’.
Lala Amarnath and Surinder Amarnath
The Amarnath family has been a well-known name in Indian cricket. Father Lala Amarnath not only played cricket for India but was also the captain. After him, two sons – Surinder and Mohinder represented the country in international cricket. Not only this, Surinder and Mohinder’s younger brother Rajinder have also played first class cricket. Outspoken ‘Lalaji’ started his Test career against England in 1933, the first year of the country’s independence, and played his last Test against Pakistan in December 1952, five years after independence. However, in a long period of 19 years, he played only 24 Tests. Could. In Test cricket, apart from scoring 878 runs at an average of 24.38, he took 45 wickets at an average of 32.91.
Lala’s elder son Surinder (Surinder Amarnath) started his international career in 1976 against New Zealand in Auckland and made a place in the exclusive club of batsmen who scored a century in the first Test. The interesting thing is that before Surinder, his father Lala Has also scored a century in his debut test. Surinder, a stylish left-handed player, was counted among the best batsmen of the country of his time, unfortunately his international career did not last long. Surinder could play only 10 tests and three ODIs. He scored 550 runs at an average of 30.55 in Tests and 100 runs at an average of 33.33 in ODIs. Compared to Surinder, his younger brother Mohinder Amarnath had a longer career. Mohinder, the vice-captain of the 1983 world champion Indian team, played 69 tests and 85 ODIs. Apart from scoring 4378 runs in the test at an average of 42.50, he took 32 wickets. In ODIs, Mohinder scored 1924 runs at an average of 30.53 and took 46 wickets.