Tamil Nadu cricket's beloved sons of sardar: Milkha & Kripal

CHENNAI: The 'Singhs of Madras' were a close-knit unit. Migrating from Amritsar in the early 20th century, the Singhs made the city their home and to many they represent "first family of Chennai cricket".
There's a reason for that. AG Milkha Singh, who died in Chennai on Friday following a cardiac arrest, was the second brother from the family to play for India.While their father AG Ram Singh played first-class cricket for TN, Milkha's elder brother, AG Kripal Singh made one century and two-half centuries in 14 Tests for India. While Milkha played four Tests, his younger brother and two nephews, AG Satwender Singh, S Kripal Singh and Arjan Kripal Singh, also represented TN with distinction while current national selector Sarandeep Singh is a close relative.
The most famous of the lot, of course, were Kripal and Milkha. The two Sikhs were Tamil Nadu stalwarts, playing through the 1950 and 60s, and entertaining crowds wherever they played. While Kripal was a right-hander and a fluent stroke player who got a debut Test hundred, Milkha was the flamboyant left-hander who loved to entertain.
It was their off-field camaraderie that used to have a major impact on the field as well. Milkha, during a chat with TOI a couple of years back, spoke about the way he and Kripal used strategize while batting. "When Kripal and I batted together, we often made the opposition believe that we found a mediocre bowler difficult to handle.
The trick was to hit the bowler for a boundary every over, and purposely play and miss a few deliveries just to give the rival skipper a wrong idea that his bowler would get us out."