Dileep Premachandran

profile contributed by Anjay M A

Dileep was widely regarded as a "born quizzer" who never needed to "prepare" for quiz. Having done most of his schooling in the United Kingdom, he returned to Calicut and soon was considered a prodigy among the junior quizzers. He quickly rose into prominence in the, then, highly competitive Calicut quizzing circuit and by the time he joined REC Calicut after finishing Pre Degree from St Josephs Devagiri, was considered one of the best in Kerala. Without doubt, he was one of the greatest sports quizzers from Kerala and was a walking encyclopedia on most things sporting. This, coupled with his British education, gave him an edge over much more senior competitors. In REC, he partnered Jairam from Cochin. The great quizzing battles for two famous Sports quiz series, the Olympics quiz and the World Cup Football quiz held regularly at Calicut ,between sports quizzards Anoop Koshy, Gopal ( also REC) and Dileep are a matter of legend. However it is often said that his lack of commitment to professional quizzing and unwillingness to travel frequently to South Kerala for major quizzes have hampered his reputation as a great quizzer. He conducted a few excellent quizzes at REC.

After finishing REC, Dileep decided to make his career in journalism. His indepth knowledge of sports and his excellent writing skills have catapulted him to being one of India's leading sports journalists. Initially a columnist for magazines like "The Gentleman", Dileep is now a regular writer for many websites and publications. He is a senior editor at cricinfo.com and is Asst Editor of Wisden India edition.

Apart from a brief appearance in BBC Mastermind, he hasn't done any active quizzing for a long time.