IN REMEMBRANCE - INDIAN TEST CRICKETERS

🏏🏏 S. S. NAIK (21 Feb 1945 – 5 Apr 2023) Credited for scoring India's first boundary in an ODI - against England at Leeds in 1974 - Bombay's prolific opener Sudhir Sakharam Naik was distinctly unlucky to have played just three Tests... Regarded as an astute captain, Naik's purple patch was probably when he led Bombay to the Ranji Trophy title in 1970–71, in the absence of the regular players who were doing duty for India in the West Indies... Making his debut in England in 1974, 141 runs from 6 Test innings, with 77 as highest, and 38 from 2 ODIs are false indicators of Naik's batting prowess when compared to his domestic record. His 4376 runs from 85 games with 7 hundreds and 27 fifties, 200* highest, and 42 catches tell another story... While it must have been heartbreaking for a promising cricketer to realize his international curtains down in a span of just 6 months, Naik continued to contribute as much as he could to the game as a player, coach, selec...

🏏🏏 P. K. SEN (31 May 1926 – 27 Jan 1970) The first regular Test wicketkeeper and also the first Test cricketer from Bengal, Comilla (now in Bangladesh) born right-handed Probir Kumar "Khokan" Sen played 14 Tests for India...  Sen made his Test debut in January 1948 against Australia, at Melbourne. He played his last Test in December 1952 against Pakistan at Calcutta... Nothing exceptional to show with the bat in Tests, Sen scored 165 runs @11.78, 25 as his highest, but his acrobatic agility behind the stumps earned him 31 dismissals - 20 caught and 11 stumped... Sen's first class record (1943-44 to 1957-58) was better, scoring 2580 runs @23.24 from 82 games, 3 hundreds and 11 fifties with 168 as highest, 108 catches and 36 stumpings, 7 wickets including a hat trick... Sen has a few records to his credit. He was the only Indian wicket-keeper to have stumped Don Bradman, in a four-day match against South Australia in 1947–48. His purple patch was i...

🏏🏏 P. G. JOSHI (7 Oct 1926 – 8 Jan 1987) Baroda born Padmanabh Govind "Nana" Joshi was a right-handed wicket-keeper batsman who played for India between 1951 and 1960... Joshi arrived on the scene at a time when India had three or four wicket keepers more or less of the same class. Thus being in and out of the eleven, Joshi played just 12 Tests in a career which lasted for almost a decade... Joshi made his Test debut in November 1951 against England at Delhi, and played his last in December 1960 against Pakistan at Bombay.... In 12 Tests  Joshi scored 207 runs @10.89, just one half century 52* - in his last Test innings - as his highest, 18 catches and 9 stumpings... Representing Maharashtra from 1946/47 to 1964/65 Joshi played 78 first class matches scoring 1710 runs @16.93, the lone 100* as highest, 8 fifties, 120 catches and 61 stumpings... Joshi was brilliant in the first innings of his debut Test, but his errors in the second helped England save the...

🏏🏏 S. NYALCHAND (14 Sep 1919 - 4 Jan 1997) Shah Nyalchand was another cricketer who played just the debut Test for India. A left-arm seamer who excelled on matting surfaces, Nyalchand was an impressive performer in the domestic circuit... Dhrangadhra (Gujarat) born Nyalchand had a first class career spanning almost a quarter of a century. Beginning from the 1939/40 season representing Western India, Nyalchand went on to play for Gujarat and Saurashtra teams till the end of the  1963/64 season... None other than Sir Frank Worrell had called Nyalchand “the King of matting wickets.” Despite placid wickets of those days, and Indian fast bowlers being allrounders, the 5'7" Nyalchand excelled with his left-arm seam bowling in 57 games, 29 for Saurashtra. He finished with 235 wickets @22.57 with a five-wicket haul 15 times and a ten-wicket haul 6 times, his best being 7/32... Nyalchand's only Test was against Pakistan in October 1952, at Lucknow. Though unfortunate ...

🏏🏏 C. T. SARWATE (22 Jul 1920 – 23 Dec 2003)  Another outstanding domestic performer who failed to realize his full potential where it mattered most,  Chandrasekhar Trimbak "Chandu" Sarwate, originally from Sagar, M.P, was a right-handed all-rounder who played 9 Test matches for India predominantly as a lower-order batsman and a spin bowler... An off-spinner and leg-spinner rolled into one, Sarwate was also a forceful batsman, good enough to open the Indian innings, which he did along with Vinoo Mankad in all the five Tests against Don Bradman's mighty team in Australia in 1947-48... Sarwate's debut and final Tests were both against England, in July 1946 Old Trafford, Manchester and December 1951 Brabourne Stadium, Bombay respectively... The 208 Test runs @13.00, with 37 as highest and 3 Test wickets, needless to say, hardly do any justice to Sarwate's cricketing abilities...  In a first class career spanning over three decade...

🏏🏏 V. B. RANJANE (22 Jul 1937 – 22 Dec 2011) Another talented new-ball bowler who unfortunately played most of his Test cricket on dead batting tracks or spin oriented pitches, and at a time when the Indian opening bowler's function was limited to just a few overs to take the shine off the ball, Pune born Vasant Baburao Ranjane was a right-arm medium pace swing bowler who played in 7 Tests between 1958 and 1964... Ranjane made his Test debut at Kanpur in December 1958 against the mighty West Indies, and played his last Test at Madras in October 1964 against Australia... His only away Test was against the West Indies in 1961-62 (series of the unfortunate Nari Contractor near-fatal injury fame) where he recorded his best Test bowling figures. Playing the final Test of that series at Kingston, Ranjane claimed the wickets of Conrad Hunte, Rohan Kanhai, Gary Sobers and Frank Worrell... He scored 40 Test runs with a top score of 16, 19 wickets @34.15 a piece with 4/72...