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Manoj Prabhakar is a former Indian cricketer. He was a right-arm medium-pace bowler and a lower-order batsman who also opened the innings sometimes for the Indian cricket team until his retirement in 1996.
Prabhakar took 96 wickets in Test cricket, 157 wickets in One Day Internationals, and over 385 first class wickets playing for Delhi. He has also played for Durham. Prabhakar is remembered for his bowling which was his strongest suit; using slower balls, and outswingers and opening the bowling. He was also a useful lower-order batsman and a defensive opener.
Prabhakar played his last match against Sri Lanka in the 1996 Cricket World Cup in New Delhi, where he conceded 47 runs in the 4 overs he bowled. He struggled to bowl well against Sanath Jayasuriya in that match, and had to bowl off-spin in the last two overs. The crowd booed him off the ground. After the tournament, he was not selected for the Indian team's tour of England. Prabhakar reacted by publicly criticizing the then-Indian captain Mohammad Azharuddin and the Board of Control for Cricket in India and accused Azharuddin of involvement in match-fixing. In 1999, Prabhakar participated in Tehelka's expose of match-fixing, but was himself charged of involvement and subsequently banned by the BCCI from playing cricket.
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