Cotar Ramaswami, born in Madras (now Chennai) on June 16, 1896, became the second Indian to make his Test debut after turning 40, playing against England in 1936. He also competed at Wimbledon and later disappeared from his home in Chennai in 1985, with his death remaining unconfirmed.
Only 13 cricketers in Test history have debuted after age 40, including Rustomji Jamshedji Dorabji Jamshedji and Ramaswami. Jamshedji was 41 years and 27 days old when he played against England in Mumbai on December 15, 1933, making him the oldest Indian to debut. Ramaswami debuted at 40 years and 39 days old on July 25, 1936, also against England, at Manchester. While Jamshedji played only one Test, Ramaswami played two.
Ramaswami’s career extended beyond Test cricket. He played 53 First-Class matches over 27 years, scoring 2,400 runs at an average of 28.91, including two centuries, and took 30 wickets at 33.06. He came from a cricket family; his brothers M Baliah and M Venkataramanjulu also played First-Class cricket, as did his son C Ramaswaroop, along with four nephews and a grand-nephew. He first played First-Class cricket for Indians against the Europeans in 1915-16, scoring 21 and 31 and taking two wickets for 24 runs in the first innings. A strong performance in the following season, with scores of 92 and 44 and six wickets for 126 runs, garnered attention from the Madras cricket community.
After attending Cambridge University from 1919 to 1923, Ramaswami also pursued tennis, representing the university in men's doubles. He was selected for the Davis Cup team and played at Wimbledon in 1923, winning his first-round match against Ulysses Williams of Britain 5-7, 8-10, 6-0, 14-12, 6-3 before losing to Nicolae Misu 6-1, 6-4, 6-3. Upon returning to India after his studies, he resumed his cricket career.
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