E. D. SOLKAR
🏏🏏 E. D. SOLKAR (18 Mar 1948 - 26 Jun 2005) When Rusi Surti chose to go Down Under in the early 70s, Indian cricket was fortunate to have an immediate glove-fitting replacement for him, a person who would go on to be known as the second Indian "poor man's Sobers"... Bombay southpaw Eknath Dhondu Solkar, who rose from humble roots, remains Test cricket's most successful fielder, with 53 catches in just 27 Tests @1.96 (the next best being Simpson 110 in 62 Tests @ 1.77) specializing at forward short leg, sans any protective gears. The legendary B. S. Bedi once said - "His close-in catching was really intimidating. We would never have been as effective without Solkar at short leg." The Indian Schools captain made his Test debut against Graham Dowling's New Zealand at Hyderabad in October 1969. Solkar's Ranji Trophy debut for Bombay was in the 1966-67 season... Solkar played in 27 Tests scoring 1,068 runs @25.42 with one hundred (102) and 6 fif