Lion-hearted

Suresh Luthra Akash Lal, a shrewd judge of men and matters, made a candid assessment about his colleague Suresh Luthra, 74, on his sudden death at Faridabad on February 12. He was a gentleman-cricketer. He was respectful of seniors and kind to juniors.
Suresh was ill for about two years. His kidney failed. He left behind a wife and two sons. In a prayer meeting, eloquent references flew from colleagueplayers. Former captain Bishan Singh Bedi paid rich tributes to his sincerity and loyalty to the team. The acting president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India also wrote about him.
Suresh made his debut for Delhi in Ranji in 1965 at the age of 20. Ram Prakash Mehra (Lattoo) referred as a ‘lion-hearted bowler. The better the opposition, the better he bowled. He also played for Punjab. He did not concentrated much on his batting, yer he scored 1014 in 76 in first class matches. He made one century. He claimed 262 wickets in 67 matches. Once he bagged nine wickets for 76 runs. He averaged 16.92. He bagged 14 times five or more in one innings and twice 10 wickets haul.

Suresh’s courage was tremendous; his concentration intense. Opposition admitted that he was an infuriated opponent. He had a of stamina and could bowl for hours together. He possessed belligerency. He was a player, who revelled in spreading effect. He had a magnificent physique and bull-dog spirit.

In hospital, Sureh greeted Akash Lal as ‘Deewan ji’ or captaan’. In the words of Akah, he could have lived longer with better medical attention.

Suresh retired in 1981.
He was extremely fast; he was unplayable when he chucked.

-- K. R. Wadhwaney