A. L. WADEKAR


🏏🏏
A. L. WADEKAR
(1 Apr 1941 - 15 Aug 2018)

Having played at a time when cricket used to still be the gentleman's game, Bombay southpaw Ajit Laxman Wadekar was one of India's most reliable one drop batsmen, endowed with one of the safest pair of hands in the slip positions...

Beginning his first class career for Bombay in the 1958–59 season, Wadekar made his Test debut perhaps a bit late, against the West Indies at Brabourne Stadium in December 1966, and ODI debut in 1974 against England at Headingley...

In an international career from 1966 to 1974 Wadekar played 37 Tests and 2 ODIs, captaining India from 1971 till he called it quits in 1974. He scored 2113 runs @31.07 with a topscore of 143, a hundred and 14 fifties and 46 catches...

Making cricketing history by leading India to her sensational first-ever Test series win against Garry Sobers's mighty West Indies in 1971, followed by another big triumph over Ray Illingworth's England in the same season, Wadekar became a household name and the nation's popular icon...

However, the loss to Mike Denness's England (of 42 all out fame), and the unfortunate Sudhir Naik incident in 1974 probably put paid to his cricketing career...

With an extremely impressive domestic record - 15380 runs with 36 hundreds and 84 fifties and 271 catches - Wadekar's only Test hundred (143) was against New Zealand, 1968, it being instrumental in India's first overseas series win. Which would rather make one feel that he failed to realize his full potential with the bat that he was capable of...

The recipient of the Arjuna award in 1967 and the Padmashri in 1972, Wadekar, along with Lala Amarnath and Chandu Borde are the only three cricketers to have served as captain, manager, and selector in Tests...

Wadekar passed away this day, 2018, in Mumbai. He was 77...

🙏🙏🌹💐   🇮🇳

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