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Keki Tarapore (coach)

Keki Tarapore

Keki Tarapore (1922–2001) was an Indian first-class cricketer and a long-serving cricket coach, best remembered for his contribution to the development of cricket in Karnataka and at the National Cricket Academy stage of Indian coaching. A left-arm spinner and lower-order batsman in his playing days, he later became one of the most respected coaches in southern Indian cricket.

Full name Keki Khurshed Tarapore
Born 1922
Died 2001
Nationality Indian
Role Cricketer; cricket coach
Bowling style Slow left-arm orthodox
Domestic team Bombay (Ranji Trophy)
Coaching base Karnataka / Bangalore

Background

Tarapore belonged to the Parsi community and grew up in the cricketing environment of Bombay (now Mumbai), which during his youth was the strongest centre of Indian first-class cricket. He took up slow left-arm bowling and represented Bombay in the Ranji Trophy during the 1940s, the period when the city's domestic side was repeatedly successful in the national championship.

Playing career

As a first-class cricketer, Tarapore was part of the Bombay teams that contested the Ranji Trophy in the years immediately following the Second World War. He did not play Test cricket, but his role as a steady spin bowler in a strong domestic line-up gave him an extensive grounding in the technical side of the game, which he later carried into coaching.

Coaching career

After retiring from active cricket, Tarapore moved into coaching and shifted his base to Bangalore, where he became closely associated with the development of cricket in Karnataka. He coached generations of players at the state and zonal level and was involved with the Karnataka State Cricket Association.

Among the cricketers who came under his guidance during their formative years were several who went on to represent India, including players from the Karnataka sides of the 1970s and 1980s. He was known for emphasising basics of technique, discipline and physical fitness, and for nurturing young talent through school and club cricket in Bangalore.

Tarapore also served Indian cricket at the national selection and coaching levels, and was associated with the early formal coaching structures established by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) before the creation of the National Cricket Academy.

Significance

Tarapore is regarded as one of the key figures in the rise of Karnataka as a major force in Indian domestic cricket from the 1970s onwards. His influence on coaching methods in southern India, and his role in identifying and developing young cricketers, have given him a lasting reputation as a builder of players rather than a celebrated performer in his own playing career.

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