Legendary West Indies Spinner Sonny Ramadhin Passes Away

BRIDGETOWN (Barbados): Legendary West Indies spinner, Sonny Ramadhin, who was one of the mainstays of the Caribbean sides of the 1950s, has passed away at the age of 92.

A right-hand bowler, who could bowl both off-spin and leg-spin without any major change to his bowling action, became a mystery for opposition batters when in his prime. Ramadhin bowled with his cap on and always had the sleeves of his shirt buttoned all the way down — another reason for him to stand out as if the tricks with the ball weren't enough.

It's an interesting story how KT 'Sonny' Ramadhin earned his name, both in and outside of cricket. The story goes that Ramadhin's birth certificate had no name and just 'Boy' written on it. Since then, everyone started referring to him as Sonny. Later, when he travelled to England for the first time to play his debut Test in 1950, he got new initials and became KT Ramadhin, though only for a while, according to ICC.

The small but lethal spinner played 43 Tests, taking 158 wickets at an average of 28.98, with his best being a 7/49 and 10 five-wicket hauls besides 10 wickets in a match.

His voracious appetite for wickets saw him account for 758 batters in 184 first-class games at an average of 20.24, with his best being 8/15. He took a mind-boggling 51 five-wicket hauls in an innings and 15 ten-wicket hauls in matches.

The ICC said in a statement that, "Ramadhin will always be remembered as one of the great Windies spinners and a unique reference point for generations to come." (IANS)

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