4 Indians you didn't know are part of Lord's Honors Board

England & India Net Sessions

Lord's Cricket Ground, the Mecca of Cricket, has been one of the most sought-after venues in the history of cricket. Not only the challenges that it throws at a cricketer but also the traditions and facilities, make Lord's one of the better places to admire cricket in any part of the cricketing world.

The one tradition that Lord's incorporates is honoring the cricketer by etching his name on the Lord's Honors Board whenever he scores a 100 in an innings or a bowler takes at least five wickets in an innings or a 10-wicket haul in a match.

Many legendary players have been a part of this tradition across a span of 134 years. The roster includes the likes of Ricky Ponting, Brian Lara, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid and the list continues.

Although many legends have been a part of this list, there are a number of players, who we don't know, hold a place on the Lord's Honors Board. Let us look at four Indians who we didn't know are a part of this legendary roster.

Honorary Mention: Ajit Agarkar


#1 Praveen Kumar

England v India: 2nd npower Test - Day One

Praveen Kumar, the seasoned bowler from the UP state of India, shot to fame in the international circuit as a bowler who was famous for his uncanny ability to dance the new ball in the air. Besides, he was also an able lower-order batsman who could chip in with some requisite runs. However, with time, his ability to bat was overlooked owing to his qualitative swing bowling.

Although the veteran swing bowler failed to market himself in the Test arena, he remains one of the few Indian bowlers to have a place on the iconic Lord's Honors Board. His 5 for 106 in the first Test of the 2011 series between India and England got him a spot on the legendary board. However, courtesy of Kevin Pietersen's double hundred, England won that match by a mammoth of 196 runs.

Praveen Kumar played six Tests in his career and scalped 27 wickets at an average of 25.81 and a strike-rate of 59.67 with the best bowling figures being 5 for 106 that he achieved at the incredible Lord's Cricket Ground.

#2 Ramakant Desai

Tiny Bowls
Tiny Bowls

Ramakant Bhikaji Desai, with a supple run-up, was probably the first genuine fast bowler to have played for India in an era that was dominated by the spinners. Bouncers and the old odd-ball were Desai's most effective weapons against the batsmen. With an unplayable out-swinger in his arsenal, Desai was India's premier bowler, especially at the overseas tour.

Desai's finest amulet of bowling came when India played England at Lord's in the second Test of the 1959 series. At Lord's, he had England in deep crisis at 80 for six and finished with five for 89 in the innings. The Lord's Test happened to be one of the best performances of Desai in his entire career of Test cricket.

RB Desai featured in 28 Tests for India and grabbed 74 wickets at an average of 37.31 and a strike-rate of 75.60 with the best bowling figures reading 6 for 56.

#3 Venkatesh Prasad

Australia v India
Venkatesh Prasad

A lanky pacer from Bangalore, Venkatesh Prasad was the central figure in the Indian bowling line-up in the 90s. With umpteen abilities up his sleeve, Prasad brought up a fair dose of phenomenal performances under helpful conditions abroad.

However, with the advent of Zaheer Khan, Prasad had to part his ways from the Indian team. Post-retirement, Venkatesh served as the bowling coach of the Indian team and was known to have groomed talents like Ishant Sharma and Praveen Kumar.

The Lord's Test between India and England in 1996 was exceptional in so many ways: Ganguly and Dravid's Test debut and Venkatesh Prasad's 5-wicket haul. With the figures reading as 5 for 76, Venkatesh became the first Indian to have his name on the Lord's Honors Board after a gap of ten years.

Venkatesh starred in 33 Tests and scalped 96 wickets at an average of 35.00 and a strike-rate of 73.30 with the best bowling figures being 6 for 33.

#4 Ravi Shastri

England & India Net Sessions
Ravi Shastri

Ravi Shastri, the current Indian Head Coach, has been the most valiant cricketer in the history of Indian cricket. Having batted at almost all the positions, Shastri was famous to have impersonated a defensive brand of cricket in the Test format.

With equable mental space and exceptional mental strength, Shastri was very good at acclimatizing the alien conditions much quicker than any other player could.

With a splendid 100 off 184 balls against England at the Lord's in 1990, Ravi Shastri became the only seventh Indian cricketer to get his name inked on the prestigious Lord's Honors Board.

Shastri played 80 Tests for India and amassed 3830 runs at an average of 35.79 which also include twelve fifties and eleven centuries with the highest score being 206.

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