Immortal Mohammed Ibrahim- Past Cricketer

In the death of Shri T A Mohamed Ibrahim, Kerala had lost one of the outstanding cricketers who donned the cap for the Kerala Ranji Team. His Ranji debut began in the season 1967-68. A product of the St Joseph’s High School, Trivandrum, Ibrahim began his career in Cricket via the Kerala School team, proving his mettle as an indemonstrable all-rounder. He has claimed hat-trick many a time, during his school days. His highest individual score was 237 runs in 150 minutes. In the same match he claimed 10 wickets for 15 runs including a hat-trick. He was a left hander, who could bowl controlled fast bowling and introducing cutters which were his strong points as an opening bowler. He was coached by A R Bhupathy in his formative Years. He played regularly in the Shastri trophy Cricket tourney organized by the Cochin Cricket Club of which I was the President. He played a cavalier knock for his team by hitting 74 (against Mahindra & Mahindra Sports Club which had test players playing at that time) in the Parade Grounds during 1965. I have known him intimately, and his prowess for the Kerala team came at a time when Cricket had different dimension. If he were to play Cricket today, I am sure, he would have been a dominant player in the Indian Cricket team. The Kerala team of his days had poor reputation. Yet his play, and the coveted glory that brought him, will be a standing testimony of the Cricket of the 60s, when Tripunithura Cricket Club, Swantons, Cochin Cricket Club, Ernakulam Cricket Club, Cannanore Cricket Club, Trivandrum Cricket Club existed. We had to take collections to conduct the tournament. In those days, Ernakulam District Cricket Association was headed by Shri V R Krishna Iyer, then a leading advocate. His late wife, Smt Sharada Krishna Iyer was a great cricket fan and a patron to all of us. As we migrated to greener pastures, I lost touch with Kerala and its Cricketing fraternity. Mohammed Ibrahim was one of them. Mohammed Ibrahim is no more. But his contribution to Cricket, in those days when it was least popular in Kerala, remains immortal. May his soul rest in eternal peace.