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Outstanding batsman and competent medium-pacer
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Tuesday chose former India batsman Mohinder Amarnath as the recipient of the C K Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award.
The second son of Lala Amarnath, independent India's first Test captain, Mohinder also populary known as 'Jimmy' was born on September 24, 1950.
An outstanding batsman and competent medium-pacer, Amarnath made his Test debut against Bill Lawry's touring Australians in 1969-70. He went on to display his technique and temperament against genuine pace in an era that witnessed some of the fastest and fiercest bowlers of all time.
His 85 against the West Indies at Port of Spain in 1975-76 helped India achieve a world record target of 403. Two years later, he scored 90 and 100 at Perth, against an attack that comprised Jeff Thomson.
World's best player of fast bowling
Amarnath was at his best in the 1982-83 season. He marked his return to the Indian team after a three-year gap, with 1,182 runs from eleven back-to-back Tests, in Pakistan and the West Indies. This golden run prompted watchers to rate him as the world's best player of fast bowling.
The tours of Pakistan and the West Indies were followed by the 1983 World Cup, wherein Amarnath excelled with bat and ball, and won the individual award in the semi-final and final.
Amarnath scored 4,378 runs from 69 Test matches, in a Test career that stretched from 1969 to 1988. He also played 85 One-Day Internationals, in which he scored 1,924 runs. He captained Delhi to a Ranji Trophy triumph in 1981-82.
Amarnath's various roles after retirement
In later years, Amarnath had coaching stints with the Bangladesh and Morocco national sides, and the Rajasthan Ranji Trophy team. He created a cricketing coaching TV series, and penned a book on the same.
He was appointed consultant of the Bengal Ranji Trophy side in 2008 and has also been a popular media personality.
Amarnath will receive the award, which comprises a trophy and a cheque for Rs. 15 lakhs, at the BCCI Awards Ceremony for the year 2008-09 to be held later this month.
Previous winners of the award:
1994 Lala Amarnath
1995 Syed Mushtaq Ali
1996 Vijay Hazare
1997 K.N. Prabhu
1998 P. R. Umrigar
1999 Col. Hemachandra Adhikari
2000 Subhash Gupte
2001 Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi
2002 Bhausaheb Nimbalkar
2003 Chandrakant Borde
2004 Bishan Singh Bedi, B Chandrasekhar, EAS Prasanna, S Venkataraghvan
2007 Nariman Contractor
2008 Gundappa Viswanath