KOCHI: Former Kerala cricket captain Paliath Ravi Achan, the first player from the state to achieve the rare double of scoring 1,000 runs and picking 100 wickets in the Ranji Trophy, passed away at his native Tripunithura, on Monday. He was 96.
Making his debut in 1952 for Travancore-Cochin against Mysore in Thiruvananthapuram, Achan, a right-handed batsman, made 43 runs, the highest scorer in the team's score of 86. Later, when Travancore-Cochin cricket team was renamed Kerala in 1957, he played for Kerala.
Born in Chendamangalam in 1928, Achan was the eldest member of the Paliam royal family of Cochin.
It was while doing his B.Sc. at the Annamalai University in Chidambaram that Achan got hooked on cricket while watching the Australian Services Team playing the Indian Test team in the 1940s.
He retired at the age of 41, but even in those days he was also a star attraction at the Pooja cricket tournament at Tripunithura. After his retirement, he served as the selector for Kerala for a few years before turning to teaching and other social activities.
He ended his first-class career with 1107 runs and 125 wickets, bowling mostly leg spin.
The cremation will be held on Tuesday.