A. M. MANKAD

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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 Dowling's New Zealand at Bombay. He played his last Test against Simpson's Australia in January 1978 at Sydney...

In 22 Tests Mankad scored 991 runs @25.41 with 6 fifties, 97 being his highest and took 12 catches. He and Chetan Chauhan were two of Gavaskar's regular opening partners who failed to score a century in Tests. Incidentally, Chauhan's highest Test score was also 97...

Though Mankad failed to impress in his debut series, his purple patch followed soon against Bill Lawry's Australia at home, under Mansoor Ali Khan of Pataudi, and the famous 1971 West Indies tour, under Ajit Wadekar...

He played just the one ODI for India against England in 1974 at Kensington Oval where he performed pretty well, scoring 44 and scalping a wicket as well...

Though he somewhat failed to realize his full potential in the international arena, Mankad’s performance for Bombay and West Zone had been exemplary. In a first class career spanning for almost two decades (1963/64 - 1982/83) Mankad amassed 12980 runs @50.90 from 218 games with 31 hundreds and 70 fifties, 265 being his highest, 72 wickets and 126 catches...

The popular concept that the captain isn't the most popular man in the dressing room was perhaps bowled-over by Mankad with his terrific sense of humour. The Bombay skipper was an excellent reader of men, and equipped with excellent talent-spotting abilities in addition to being an astute strategist...

It wouldn't be wrong to say that Mankad was unfortunate to not really enjoy the confidence of the selectors, to not being given a fixed batting slot in his 22 Tests which was spread over almost a decade. Often he was picked for just a Test or two of a series. Though not in the class of his father, Mankad possessed a wide repertoire of strokes and the talent to have gone farther than he eventually did...

Mankad who served as India team manager, as coach of Mumbai and Baroda Ranji teams, and as a commentator post-retirement, passed away peacefully in his sleep, this day, in Mumbai, in the year 2008. He was just 61...

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