Abey Kuruvilla

Abey Kuruvilla represented Bombay (now Mumbai) during his prime cricketing days but wasn’t fortunate enough to play for India much. He was a 6”6’ burly fast-bowler who wasn’t quick, citing his physique, but had a well-disguised off-cutter in his arsenal. The Kerala-born bowler emerged onto the scene when Kuruvilla bagged more than 50 wickets in his maiden First-Class season in 1990-91. 

Despite showcasing his top-notch game, the seamer had to wait until 1997 to don the Indian jersey. However, he was considered to make his international debut on the tour of South Africa in 1992-93 but couldn’t make it. When Javagal Srinath got injured in 1997, Kuruvilla led the Indian bowling crew on the tour of the West Indies and bowled impressively to register a five-wicket haul in the second innings of the Bridgetown Test. 

The seamer was regular in both Tests and ODI for 1997-98 but was dropped from the Indian team. Kuruvilla then faded away from the domestic circuit as well and retired during the quarter-final of the 1999-00 Ranji Trophy, at a mere age of 31 years. The Kerela-born wanted to make some room for emerging talents. He then opted to serve the sport as a selector. In 2012, the former cricketer became Mumbai's chief selector, before being a talent scout for Mumbai Indians. BCCI appointed Kuruvilla as one of the five national selectors in 2020. 

(As of May 2021)