AIR CMDE H. T. DANI

🏏🏏

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 class cricket after his Test career was over. Representing Maharashtra, and later Services, in a career spanning two decades (1951/52 - 1972/73), the right-handed allrounder had an impressive domestic performance with both bat and ball, being effective as a medium pacer as well as a slow-break bowler...

He has against his name 6476 runs from 116 matches @44.35, 17 hundreds and 34 fifties, 170* as his highest, 200 wickets @21.90 a piece and 79 catches...

Dani joined the Indian Air Force in 1956 and raised the fortunes of the Services team, both as a player and skipper for many years...

He was a national selector from 1968 to 1975. He was the manager, selector and coach of Maharashtra's Ranji Trophy side between 1989 and 1997...

A B.A. (Hons) degree holder, Dani rose to become an Air Commodore, and retired from service in 1987...

He passed away after a prolonged illness this day, 1999, in Nashik. He was 66...

🙏🙏🌹💐    🇮🇳

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

D. N. SARDESAI

Image
🏏🏏 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 ...
Read more

A. M. MANKAD

Image
🏏🏏 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...
Read more

GHULAM AHMED

Image
  🏏🏏 GHULAM AHMED (4 Jul 1922 - 28 Oct 1998)  The gentleman cricketer from Hyderabad, right-arm slow Ghulam Ahmed, was regarded as an off-spinner of the highest class, the first ever to play for India. His easy action helped in good control over line and length. Representing India for a decade, he along with Vinoo Mankad and Subhash Gupte, formed the first great Indian spin trio...  By sheer coincidence of sorts, Ghulam Ahmed's debut and final Tests were against the West Indies, on the same ground, Delhi, exactly a decade apart - 31st December 1948 and 1958 respectively... Ghulam Ahmed toured England in 1952 and Pakistan in 1954-55. He captained India in 3 Tests -  a drawn Test against New Zealand in 1955-56, and found himself on the losing side in two against the West Indies in 1958-59... Ghulam Ahmed played in the inaugural Test between India and Pakistan in 1952-53, Delhi, which India won. A memorable one for him as he took five wickets and scored 50 at ...
Read more