The All India cricket team on England tour, 1936. (left-right): Baqa Jilani, Lala Armanath, Syed Mohammad Hussain, Mushtaq Ali, Cotar Ramaswami, Khershed Meherhomji. Seated: Phiroze Edulji Palia, Cottari Kanakaiya Nayudu, Maharaj Kumar of Vizianagram, Mohammad Nissar, Vijay Merchant. (Photo/Getty Images)
Only 13 cricketers in the history of Test cricket have made their debuts after turning 40. Two of them were Indians — Rustomji Jamshedji Dorabji Jamshedji and Cotar Ramaswami. Jamshedji remains the oldest Indian to make his Test debut. He was 41 years and 27 days old when he played against England in Mumbai on December 15, 1933. Ramaswami, born on June 16, 1896, in Madras (now Chennai), made his Test debut aged 40 years and 39 days against England at Manchester on July 25, 1936. Born on November 18, 1892, in Bombay (now Mumbai), Jamshedji played only one Test for India, while Ramaswami played two. But Ramaswami's story goes beyond his short Test career. He played First-Class cricket for 27 years, represented Cambridge University in tennis and even appeared at Wimbledon. Decades later, he left his home in Chennai one morning and was never seen or heard from again.
A family of cricketers
Cotar Ramaswami was the youngest son of Buchi Babu Naidu, who was a trailblazer in Madras cricket. Ramaswami was a left-handed batter and played 53 First-Class matches, scoring 2,400 runs at 28.91, including two centuries. He also took 30 wickets at 33.06. He came from a family closely connected to cricket. His brothers M Baliah and M Venkataramanjulu played First-Class cricket, as did his son C Ramaswaroop. Four of his nephews and a grand-nephew also played First-Class cricket. Ramaswami made his First-Class debut for Indians against the Europeans in 1915-16. He scored 21 and 31 and took two wickets for 24 runs in the first innings. The following season, in the same fixture, he scored 92 and 44 and took six wickets for 126 runs in the match. The performances caught the attention of the Madras cricket fraternity. However, opportunities were limited. Ramaswami was generally playing only one First-Class match a year and had made just four appearances before leaving for Cambridge in 1919.
Tryst with Tennis
At Cambridge, Ramaswami continued playing cricket but also took up tennis. He studied there until 1923 and represented Cambridge University in men's doubles. After winning matches during a tour of the Netherlands, he was selected for the Davis Cup team. That year, he also played at Wimbledon. Ramaswami won his first-round match against Britain's Ulysses Williams in a five-set contest, 5-7, 8-10, 6-0, 14-12, 6-3. He was then beaten by Nicolae Misu, who won 6-1, 6-4, 6-3.
Back to cricket
After completing his studies at Cambridge, Ramaswami returned to India and joined the Agricultural Department as an officer. He continued playing cricket for Madras and was part of the first Ranji Trophy match against Mysore, scoring 26. In 1936, at the age of 40, he was selected for India's tour of England. In his book, Ramblings of a games addict, Ramaswami claimed modestly that he was convinced he had been chosen for reasons other than cricket because he had become 'bulky and slow.' His performances on the tour suggested otherwise. He scored 737 runs in First-Class matches at an average of 30.70 before making his Test debut in the second Test at Old Trafford.
India cricket team photographed in London during their tour of England in June 1936. Back row (left-right); Baqa Jilani, Morappakam Gopalan, Laxmidas Jai, Lala Amarnath, Amir Elahi, Cotar Ramaswami. Centre row: Vijay Merchant, Mohammad Nisar, Cottari Kanakaiya Nayudu, Maharajah of Vizianagaram (captain), Syed Wazir Ali, Phiroze Edulji Palia, Mohammad Hussain. Front row: Mushtaq Ali, Dattaram Hindlekar, Shute Banerjee, Khershed Meherhomji. (Photo/Getty Images)
At 40 years and 37 days, he became the second-oldest Indian to make his Test debut when he received the India cap in the second Test match of the series, at Old Trafford. He scored 40 and 60 in the match, helping India draw the Test. It was also the match in which Vijay Merchant and Mushtaq Ali put together their famous opening partnership of 203 runs. Ramaswami followed that with scores of 29 and 41 not out in the final Test at The Oval. He finished his Test career with 170 runs at an average of 56.66. That was the end of his international career, but Ramaswami continued playing for Madras for several more years. His First-Class career lasted 25 years, during which he scored 2,261 runs at 28.26. He was known as a free-stroking left-handed batter, with a strong drive on both sides of the wicket. He also represented the Hindus in the Bombay Quadrangular and Pentangular tournaments.
From player to manager and selector
Ramaswami remained involved in cricket after his playing career. He managed India's tour of the West Indies in 1953. The team became one of the most popular Indian sides to visit the Caribbean. In the late 1950s, he became a national selector. The period, however, was marked by disagreements over team selection and India's poor performances.
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It culminated during the 1958-59 home series against the West Indies, when India had four captains in five Tests and there was considerable disagreement over selection.
The disappearance
Ramaswami's story took an unexplained turn decades later. On the morning of October 15, 1985, he left his residence in Adyar and never returned. There have been occasional reports of sightings over the years, but none were confirmed. Wisden eventually listed him as `presumed dead'. His whereabouts were never established, although record books later began listing January 1990 as his date of death. Wisden continues to list his death as "death unknown". His family knew little about what happened to him, apart from the fact that he did not want to become a burden on them.
