R. F. SURTI


🏏🏏

R. F. SURTI
(25 May 1936 – 13 Jan 2013)

Despite a defeat staring at him and India, a man bowled his heart out on the 9th of November 1969 at the Brabourne Stadium, snaring up the wickets of the Australian openers Keith Stackpole and Bill Lawry, shattering the skipper's stumps. That turned out to be his final Test match for India, at the same venue where he had made his debut...

The bowler was Surat born Rusi Framroze Surti, the illustrious utility left-handed allrounder, who played in 26 Tests for India from 1960 to 1969. With the abilities of pace, swing and spin bowling coupled with being a reliable lower order batsman and a fielder par excellence, Surti was arguably any captain's both dream and delight...

A popular professional for Haslingden in the Lancashire League in 1959, Surti made his Test debut in December 1960 against Pakistan...

In 26 Tests Surti scored 1263 runs @28.70 with a highest of 99, nine 50+ scores, 42 wickets @46.71 a piece, his best being 5/74, and 26 catches...

Surti was the first Indian player to score a fifty in both innings and take five wickets in one of the innings in the same Test, against Australia, 1st Test at Adelaide Oval in 1967 (70 and 53, and 5/74). He almost repeated the feat in the 3rd Test at Brisbane as well (52 and 64, 3/102 and 3/59)...

Surti's first class career extended from 1956 to 1972, representing Gujarat, Rajasthan and Queensland...

From 160 first class matches Surti scored 8066 runs @30.90 with 246* as his highest, 6 hundreds and 53 fifties, 284 wickets @37.07 a piece, and 122 catches...

Surti’s farewell to Test cricket, followed by Farokh Engineer's retirement in 1975 brought the curtains down on the saga of Parsi Test cricketers..

Surti, by virtue of his immense cricketing abilities, had earned the nickname "Poor man's Garry Sobers." A few quarters felt it a bit bizarre in the sense that it was difficult to decide whether the assessment was an uncharitable one, or an ultimate compliment...

Ian Chappell had this to say -
“Like Sobers, Rusi was built for the modern game and they both did everything. He was a bit unlucky to cop that nickname because Sobers was the ultimate all round player. Being next in line still makes Rusi a damn good cricketer and lets face it, everybody was a poor man’s Garry Sobers.”

We were fortunate enough to see the shades of Surti, in the later years, in the form of Eknath Solkar and Karsan Ghavri, both accomplished left-handed allrounders of their times...

Surti remains the only Indian Test player to play in the Sheffield Shield down under. Post retirement, Surti stayed back in Queensland, and worked as a cricket coach for over another three and a half decades...

While on a routine trip to Mumbai, Surti suffered a stroke, and on this day, in 2013, Indian cricket bade adieu to the legend. He was 76...

🙏🙏🌹💐    🇮🇳

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