New Delhi, April 14: Manoj Prabhakar is celebrated as one of India’s finest fast-bowling all-rounders. He began his career as a bowler for the Indian team and was also a formidable lower-order batsman. Prabhakar often opened the batting for Team India.
Born on April 15, 1963, in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, he was a right-arm medium-fast bowler and a right-handed batsman. Prabhakar made his One Day International (ODI) debut on April 8, 1984, against Sri Lanka in Sharjah, and his Test debut on December 12, 1984, against England in New Delhi. He remained a key player for the Indian team until 1996.
During his career, Prabhakar took 96 wickets in 39 Tests across 68 innings. He achieved the remarkable feat of taking five wickets in an innings three times. In Test cricket, he scored 1,600 runs, including one century and nine half-centuries in 58 innings. In ODIs, he claimed 157 wickets in 130 innings while scoring 1,858 runs in 98 innings, with two centuries and eleven half-centuries to his name.
Prabhakar holds the record for the most instances of opening both batting and bowling in international cricket. He opened the batting and bowling 45 times in ODIs and 20 times in Tests. His bowling skills, particularly his use of slow balls and outswingers, are fondly remembered.
He was part of the Indian teams that won the 1985 World Championship of Cricket, the 1984 Asia Cup, the 1990-91 Asia Cup, and the 1995 Asia Cup.
In domestic cricket, Prabhakar played for Delhi, taking 385 wickets in 154 first-class matches while scoring 7,469 runs. In List A cricket, he took 269 wickets in 214 matches and scored 4,118 runs.
He retired from cricket in 1996. After retirement, Prabhakar transitioned into coaching, serving as the bowling coach for the Delhi cricket team and the head coach for the Rajasthan cricket team. He has also coached the Afghanistan and Nepal cricket teams.
Prabhakar has had his share of controversies, including allegations of match-fixing. In 2011, he was removed from coaching the Delhi cricket team after publicly criticizing players and selectors.
Currently, Prabhakar enjoys a quiet life away from cricket, spending time with his family.
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