Salil Ankola
Season Journey CompleteSalil Ankola
Bio
Salil Ankola (सलिल अंकोला), full name Salil Ashok Ankola, is a former Indian cricketer, actor, and film producer born on 1 March 1968 in Solapur, Maharashtra. He is one of India's most versatile post-cricket careers, successfully transitioning into the entertainment industry after retiring from professional cricket. As a cricketer, he was a right-arm medium-fast bowler who represented India in 1 Test match (against New Zealand in 1989) and 20 One Day Internationals between 1989 and 1997. He was also a strong domestic cricketer for Maharashtra in the Ranji Trophy, and was part of the Indian national setup during a period of intense competition. After retiring from cricket, he pursued an entertainment career, making his acting debut in the 1994 Bollywood film Anth (also starring Shakti Kapoor). He appeared in the long-running Sony TV crime procedural CID, co-hosted shows, and became a film producer. He was also the Cricket Operations Manager at the Karnataka Premier League (KPL). In November 2006, he was selected as a housemate for Bigg Boss Season 1 on Sony TV. However, on Day 5, a Bombay High Court order compelled him to leave the house — he had previously signed a contract with Balaji Telefilms agreeing not to participate in any competing production company's reality television shows. Since Bigg Boss was produced by Endemol India for Sony (and Balaji was Ekta Kapoor's competitor), the court upheld the contractual clause and ejected him from the house, making him the first-ever ejected housemate in Bigg Boss India history. He finished fifteenth and last overall. He was subsequently replaced by wildcard contestant Deepak Tijori.
Playing 1 Test and 20 ODIs for India (1989–1997) as a right-arm medium-fast bowler for Maharashtra; appearing in the Bollywood film Anth (1994) and the TV series CID (as DCP Pradyuman's associate); being ejected from Bigg Boss Hindi Season 1 on Day 5 (2006) by Bombay High Court order due to a prior contractual agreement with Balaji Telefilms; finishing fifteenth (last) overall.