Hemu Adhikari – Lieutenant Colonel
The right-handed batsman Hemu Adhikari served for the Indian national cricket team from 1947 to 1959, where he played 21 Tests. In his Test career, Adhikari scored 872 runs (average 31.14), including one century and four half-centuries, and also took three wickets as a leg-spinner. He was also a very good fielder at that time. In his last Test, Adhikari led the Indian team for the only time (against West Indies at Delhi in February 1959) which ended with a draw result.
Later, Adhikari also played the manager role of the Indian team. In 1971, he inspired the team to win their first away Test against England (at The Oval in August 1971). He reportedly groomed the highly successful Indian cricketers like Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev, Ravi Shastri, Mohinder Amarnath, Syed Kirmani etc.
During World War II, Adhikari served for the Indian Army. He ended the military career as a Lieutenant Colonel.