A tall, slim aggressive middle-order batsman, a more than useful legspin bowler and a reliable close in field, Subramanyam played with moderate success in the few Tests that he played between 1965 and 1968. Against West Indies at Madras in 1966-67, he hit a breezy 61, treating Hall and Griffith with disdain. He did little of note on the tour of England in 1967, but he touched form late and played in two of the three Tests. Pressed to open the attack because of injuries to the regular new ball bowlers, he bowled Geoff Boycott in the third Test at Edgbaston. On the tour of Australia and New Zealand in 1967-68, he did little of note, save for a fighting 75 in a losing cause in the first Test at Adelaide. In the late sixties, he migrated to Australia.

`Subbu' was a tower of strength to Mysore for over a decade, captaining them for a few years. In the Ranji Trophy, he scored 2251 runs (41.20) and his highest score was a memorable unbeaten 213 against Madras at Chepauk in 1966-67. During that innings, he hit 25 fours and six sixes and shared a 117 run last-wicket partnership with BS Chandrasekhar, out of which Subramanyam's share was 105. He was also a prolific scorer for South Zone in the Duleep Trophy. In a decade-long first-class career, he scored 4219 runs (31.72) with eight centuries.
Partab Ramchand

• The real deal (Jul 16, 2003)