Who is TTV Namboori? When India's Asian Games scorecard looked like a different team

India's Asian Games cricket scorecard had fans doing a double take: S Vishwanadh, TTV Namboori and W S Mani Sundar sounded like Cricket 07 throwbacks. Except they were actually Sanju Samson, Tilak Varma and Washington Sundar.

In Short

• Asian Games listings used official registered names instead of familiar cricket names
• The unusual team sheet first drew wider attention before the final
• India posted 211 for 6 against Pakistan in the men's cricket gold medal match

MS Dhoni was D. Dhenier. Virender Sehwag became V. Seway. Yuvraj Singh was Yevray Singh. Gautam Gambhir was G. Gemphir.

If you played EA Sports' Cricket 07, you probably remember India's stars having slightly... different names. The unlicensed version of Indian cricket had its own wonderfully strange dictionary.

Nearly two decades later, on the morning of the Asian Games cricket final, Indian fans were given a familiar feeling.

S. Vishwanadh. T.T.V. Namboori. W.S. Mani Sundar.

Who?

For anyone checking India's XI before the gold-medal clash against Pakistan, the stange-looking scorecard could genuinely have made it look as though India had turned up with a second-string side.

And if you knew Indian cricket, the confusion only got bigger.

Because this was not some second-string India team.

S. Vishwanadh was Sanju Samson.

T.T.V. Namboori was Tilak Varma.

W.S. Mani Sundar was Washington Sundar.

The Asian Games scorecard, however, wasn't particularly interested in the names by which Indian cricketers are usually known.

It was using their registered names.

And so, as cricket fans checked India's XI ahead of the final, the team sheet looked a little like an alternate-universe version of the Indian side.

There was J.J. Bumrah, S.S. Iyer, I. Kishan, S.R. Dube and A.R. Patel alongside those three particularly mysterious names.

And suddenly, as India began to dominate Pakistan in the final, the scorecard began giving the game away.

V. Sooryavanshi was Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, the 15-year-old who opened the innings. He smashed two sixes before Saim Ayub got him for 15 off nine and celebrated with a baby-cradle gesture.

A. Sharma was Abhishek Sharma.

And he proceeded to make the identity rather obvious.

Abhishek tore into Pakistan's attack, smashing 61 off 28 balls, with seven sixes and three fours. India raced through the powerplay before losing Sooryavanshi and then Sanju Samson, who appeared on the scorecard as S. Vishwanadh, for just two.

Shreyas Iyer, or S.S. Iyer, made 21 off 24 before Ishan Kishan, listed simply as I. Kishan, scored 20 off 18.

TTV NAMBOORI HURTS PAKISTAN AGAIN

Then came the big reveal.

T.T.V. Namboori walked in and, presumably without caring one bit about the confusion he had caused that morning, started hitting Pakistan's bowlers around.

Tilak Varma, who has made it a habit of hurting Pakistan, smashed an unbeaten 51 off 22 balls, with four sixes and three fours. Shivam Dube, or S.R. Dube, added 27 off 15, as the pair put on a late charge.

India took 69 runs from the final four overs to finish on 211/6.

By then, there was little mystery left.

The unfamiliar names had suddenly become very familiar.

The reason for the strange-looking names is fairly simple. Unlike a regular bilateral or ICC cricket scorecard, the Asian Games uses athletes' official registered names, which can differ from the names they are commonly known by in cricket.

Which meant that for a few hours on final morning, India's gold-medal match came with an unexpected subplot.

Fans weren't just figuring out whether India would beat Pakistan. They were figuring out who exactly was playing for India.

In case you were wondering...

• Vishwanadh Sanju — Sanju Vishwanadh Samson
• Namboori Thakur Tilak Varma — Tilak Varma
• Mani Sundar Washington Sundar — Washington Sundar
• Iyer Shreyas Santosh — Shreyas Iyer
• Dube Shivam Rajesh — Shivam Dube
• Patel Axar Rajeshbhai — Axar Patel
• Bumrah Jasprit Jasbirsingh — Jasprit Bumrah
• Thakur Yash Ravisingh — Yash Thakur
• Sooryavanshi Vaibhav — Vaibhav Sooryavanshi
• Sharma Abhishek — Abhishek Sharma
• Kishan Ishan — Ishan Kishan
• Bishnoi Ravi — Ravi Bishnoi
• Singh Arshdeep — Arshdeep Singh
• Nigam Vipraj — Vipraj Nigam

- Ends