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Keki Tarapore

Keki Khurshedji Tarapore (1910–1986) was an Indian first-class cricketer and coach. A left-arm spinner and lower-order batsman, he represented Bombay in the Ranji Trophy during the 1940s and later became one of the more influential cricket coaches in southern India, particularly through his long association with the National Cricket Club and cricket development in Bangalore.

Key facts

Full name Keki Khurshedji Tarapore
Born 1910
Died 1986
Nationality Indian
Community Parsi
Role Left-arm spinner; lower-order batsman
Domestic team Bombay
Competition Ranji Trophy
Later role Cricket coach

Background

Tarapore belonged to the Parsi community of Bombay, which contributed several prominent players to Indian cricket during the early and mid-twentieth century. He came up through Bombay's competitive club cricket structure, which in his era served as the principal pathway to first-class selection.

Playing career

Tarapore played first-class cricket for Bombay in the Ranji Trophy, the national domestic championship organised by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). He was part of Bombay sides that competed during a period in which the team was establishing the dominance it would later carry through the post-Independence decades. As a left-arm spinner, he was used primarily in a containing and partnership-breaking role, and contributed lower-order runs.

Coaching career

After retiring as a player, Tarapore moved into coaching and became closely associated with cricket in Bangalore (now Bengaluru). He worked with young cricketers in Karnataka over an extended period and is remembered as a mentor figure for several players who went on to represent the state and the country during the 1960s and 1970s. His coaching influence is regarded as part of the foundation on which Karnataka's strong showing in the Ranji Trophy from the early 1970s onwards was built.

Significance

Tarapore's career bridges two important strands of Indian cricket history: the Bombay school of disciplined, technically grounded play in which he was trained, and the southern shift in cricketing strength that emerged in the decades after Independence. His work as a coach contributed to the institutional grooming of cricketers at a time when formal coaching structures in India were still developing.

References