IN REMEMBRANCE - INDIAN TEST CRICKETERS

🏏🏏 R. D. PARKAR (31 Oct 1946 - 11 Aug 1999) A player who was perhaps not allowed to bloom to his full potential in Tests for want of opportunities which he fully deserved, diminutive right handed Ramnath Dhondu Parkar did yeoman service to Bombay as it's near perfect opener... Tutored by the illustrious Vinoo Mankad and later by Ramakant Achrekar, Parkar made his domestic debut for Vazir Sultan Tobacco Colts XI in the 1964-65 season, followed by the Bombay cap in the 1970-71 season... A trifle unfortunate to have represented India in just two Tests, in the home series against Tony Lewis's England in 1972, Parkar managed just 80 runs, 35 being his topscore... A captain's dream with an adaptability to bat and field at any position, Parkar standing at 5'3" was a quality willow-wielder and an outstanding fielder who served Bombay exemplarily when it's regular players were away... Having had all possible copybook shots in his repertoire to be co

🏏🏏 A. M. MANKAD (12 Oct 1946 – 1 Aug 2008) Ashok Mulvantrai Mankad, fondly known as Kaka, was the eldest son of the illustrious Vinoo Mankad. His siblings Atul and Rahul played first class cricket; his better half Nirupama and sons Mihir and Harsh were renowned tennis players of their times... There are several quarters who still consider Mankad, the victorious Bombay skipper of 1974-75 and 1975-76, as the greatest captain India had produced but never had, often in comparison with England's Mike Brearley... Primarily a right handed middle-order batsman, Mankad had held all positions from No.1 to No.8, and could turn his arm around with some medium stuff and off cutters as well. Making his way duly through the Harris Shield, Under-19 and Rohinton Baria tourneys, Mankad made his first class debut just a week before he turned 17... He made his Test debut, along with Chetan Chauhan and Ajit Pai, in September 1969 against Graham Do

YASHPAL SHARMA (11 August 1954 – 13 July 2021) 'Crisis Man For India' in the words of Sunil Gavaskar, Ludhiana born right-handed middle order batsman of the 1970s and 1980s, Yashpal Sharma is the only member of the victorious 1983 World Cup Indian team to have left this mortal world... Donning the Punjab cap from 1973, Yashpal came into the national limelight after his stellar knock of 173 for North Zone in the 1977 Duleep Trophy final, against South Zone packed with stalwarts like Prasanna and Chandrasekhar... Picked initially for the ODIs, Yashpal’s first match for India was in October 1978 against Pakistan. Making his Test debut in August 1979 against England at Lord's, Yashpal played his final Test in November 1983 against the West Indies at New Delhi, and his final ODI in January 1985 against England... With 2 centuries and 9 fifties in 37 Tests, Yashpal scored 1606 runs, 140 being his highest. From 42 ODIs he has 4 fifties in the 883 runs scored, with a to

🏏🏏 D. N. SARDESAI (8 Aug 1940 - 2 Jul 2007)  The only cricketer from Goa to play for India in Tests, Margao born Dilip Narayan Sardesai was a technically sound right-handed wristy specialist batsman with the ability to play both spin and pace with equal ease. He was the first Indian batsman to score a double century in an overseas Test, with his epic 212 at Kingston, Jamaica...  Sardesai's Test debut in 1961, and his final game in 1972, both were against England at Kanpur and Delhi respectively... In 30 Tests Sardesai scored 2001 runs @39.23 with 5 hundreds and 9 fifties, 212 as highest, and 4 catches... Playing for Bombay and West Zone in the domestic circuit from 1961 to 1973, Sardesai scored 10,230 runs from 179 first class games @41.75 with 25 hundreds and 56 fifties, highest being 222, and 85 catches. Bombay won all the 10 finals they reached out of the 13 seasons that Sardesai played for them...  Sardesai replaced Nari Contractor after the latter'

🏏🏏 R. G. NADKARNI (4 Apr 1933 – 17 Jan 2020) Rameshchandra Gangaram "Bapu" Nadkarni was an accomplished left-handed slow orthodox bowling allrounder, with an uncanny knack of keeping the batsmen on a tight leash... Originally from Nashik, Nadkarni's debut and final Tests were against New Zealand, in December 1955 at Delhi and in March 1968 at Auckland respectively... Nadkarni who excelled in badminton, table tennis, kabaddi and kho-kho as well was spotted by Prof. D. B. Deodhar who persuaded him to stick to cricket, convincing him that his footwork on the badminton court would be more effective between the 22 yards strip...  Playing 41 Tests for India, Nadkarni scored 1414 runs @25.70, with one century (122*) as his highest, 7 fifties, 22 catches, 88 wickets @29.07 with a best of 6/43, five wickets in an innings 4 times and ten in a match once... Representing Maharashtra in the domestic circuit from 1951-52 to

🏏🏏 AIR CMDE H. T. DANI (24 May 1933 - 19 Dec 1999) Another gifted cricketer who unfortunately found himself in the list of the 'only debut Test' category, Hemchandra Tukaram "Bal" Dani originally from Solapur, shifted base to Nashik, Maharashtra... He played his only Test at the age of 19 in November 1952 against Pakistan, at the Brabourne Stadium, Bombay, which India won by 10 wickets... Opening the bowling with 41 year old Lala Amarnath, Dani held a great catch (A. H. Kardar) and got a wicket (Nazar Mohammad) in the total of 10 overs that he got to bowl in the entire match. He didn't have to bat at all. Evidently, he did not fail in the Test, which meant that there was really no reason to drop him, or to not pick him again for that matter. He toured Pakistan in 1954/55 without playing a Test. The Indian cricket selection procedures having quite often defied logic, it was Test curtains for Dani... Dani played most of his first clas