Ajit Laxman Wadekar (; 1 April 1941 – 15 August 2018) was an Indian international
cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by st ...
er who played for the
Indian national team between 1966 and 1974. Described as an "aggressive batsman", Wadekar made his first-class debut in 1958, before making his foray into international cricket in 1966. He batted at number three and was considered to be one of the finest slip fielders. Wadekar also captained the Indian cricket team which won series in the West Indies and England in 1971 (first victory of Indian team in test cricket outside of India was recorded in 1968 under the captaincy of
Mansoor Pataudi against New Zealand). The
Government of India
The Government of India ( ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...
honoured him with the
Arjuna Award
The Arjuna Award, officially known as Arjuna Awards for Outstanding Performance in Sports and Games, is the second-highest sporting honour of India, the highest being the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award. The award is named after Arjuna, one ...
(1967) and
Padmashri (1972), India's fourth highest civilian honour.
Early life
Born in
brahmin
Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests ( purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers ( ...
family at
Bombay
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' fin ...
, Wadekar's father wished him to study
Mathematics
Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...
so that he could become an engineer, but Wadekar instead preferred to play cricket.
Career
Introduction to cricket
He made his first-class debut for
Bombay
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' fin ...
in 1958–59, before making his international debut in
Test
Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to:
* Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities
Arts and entertainment
* ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film
* ''Test'' (2014 film), ...
in December 1966, against the
West Indies
The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greate ...
at the
Brabourne Stadium
The Brabourne Stadium is a cricket ground in Mumbai in Western India, built in the British Bombay era. It was the home ground of the Mumbai men's and women's cricket teams. It can accommodate 50,000 people for sports matches. The ground is ow ...
in Bombay. After that he became a part of the regular team, and went on to play 37 Test matches for India between 1966 and 1974, generally batting at number three. He was also working in State Bank of India as part-time job as at that time there was not much money in cricket and so cricket was played for hobby, maintaining the pride of the nation rather than having a luxury life or as a profession. According to Wadekar at that time 2500 Rs were paid to the players for playing each test match.
Captaincy and overseas wins
Wadekar was appointed the captain of Bombay, and soon was made the
captain of the Indian cricket team in 1971, leading a side that included players like
Sunil Gavaskar
Sunil Manohar Gavaskar (Marathi pronunciation: uniːl ɡaːʋəskəɾ ; born 10 July 1949), is an Indian cricket commentator and former cricketer who represented India and Bombay from 1971 to 1987. Gavaskar is acknowledged as one of the grea ...
,
Gundappa Viswanath
Gundappa Ranganath Viswanath (born 12 February 1949) is a former Indian cricketer. Vishwanath was rated as one of India's finest batsmen throughout the 1970s. Viswanath played Test cricket for India from 1969 to 1983, making 91 appearances ...
,
Farokh Engineer
Farokh Maneksha Engineer (born 25 February 1938) is an Indian former cricketer. He played 46 Test matches for India, played first-class cricket for Bombay in India from 1959 to 1975 and for Lancashire County Cricket Club in England from 196 ...
, and the
Indian spin quartet
The Indian spin quartet is the collective name given to the Indian cricket spin bowlers of the 1960s and 1970s: Erapalli Prasanna and Srinivas Venkataraghavan (both off spinners), Bhagwat Chandrasekhar (a leg spinner), and Bishen Singh Bedi (a l ...
that included
Bishen Bedi,
E.A.S. Prasanna
Erapalli Anantharao Srinivas Prasanna (born 22 May 1940) is a former Indian cricket player. He was a spin bowler, specializing in off spin and a member of the Indian spin quartet. He is an alumnus of National Institute of Engineering, Mysore. ...
,
Bhagwat Chandrasekhar
Bhagwat Subramanya Chandrasekhar (informally Chandra; born 17 May 1945) is an Indian former cricketer who played as a leg spinner. Considered among the top echelon of leg spinners, Chandrasekhar along with E.A.S. Prasanna, Bishen Singh Bedi an ...
and
Srinivasaraghavan Venkataraghavan
Srinivasaraghavan Venkataraghavan ( (informally Venkat, born 21 April 1945) is an Indian former cricketer. He captained the Indian cricket team at the first two ICC Cricket World Cups, and later became an umpire on the elite International Cric ...
. India won over five matches in the West Indies in the early 1970s, and then defeated England over three. He led India to a third successive series victory, beating
England cricket team
The England cricket team represents England and Wales in international cricket. Since 1997, it has been governed by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), having been previously governed by Marylebone Cricket Club (the MCC) since 1903. En ...
again, 2–1 in a five-match series in 1972–73.
Wadekar continued to be the captain of the Indian team that toured England in 1974. He represented India in its first ever
One Day International
A One Day International (ODI) is a form of limited overs cricket, played between two teams with international status, in which each team faces a fixed number of overs, currently 50, with the game lasting up to 9 hours. The Cricket World C ...
(ODI) game during that tour. Batting at number three, Wadekar made 67 runs, but still ended on the losing side. He scored 73 runs in his ODI career at an average of 36.50 with a strike rate of 81.11. Following India's dismal performance in the series, he retired from international cricket.
[ After that tour Wadekar played just one more First-class match before retiring from all forms of cricket.
]
Post retirement
Wadekar also served as the manager of the Indian cricket team in the 1990s, alongside captain Mohammad Azharuddin
Mohammad Azharuddin (born 8 February 1963) is an Indian politician and a former international cricketer and former captain of India national cricket team. He is the working president of the Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee and was the mem ...
. He is one of the few Indians to represent the country as Test player, captain, coach/manager and the chairman of selectors. Lala Amarnath
Lala Amarnath Bharadwaj (11 September 1911 - 5 August 2000) was an Indian cricketer. He scored a century on test debut and became the first player to score a century for the India national cricket team in Test cricket. He was independent India ...
and Chandu Borde
Chandrakant Gulabrao "Chandu" Borde (born 21 July 1934), is a former cricketer who was a member of the Indian team between 1958 and 1970. Following his retirement, Borde became a cricket administrator, serving as the Chairman of national selec ...
are the only other players to achieve this distinction.
Death
On 15 August 2018, Wadekar died due to illness at Jaslok Hospital, Mumbai, at the age of 78. On 17 August, he was cremated with full state honours in the Shivaji Park crematorium in Mumbai. Many cricketers, as well as cricket fans in large numbers, attended his funeral.
Awards and honours
Wadekar was honoured with the Arjuna Award
The Arjuna Award, officially known as Arjuna Awards for Outstanding Performance in Sports and Games, is the second-highest sporting honour of India, the highest being the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award. The award is named after Arjuna, one ...
, instituted by the Government of India
The Government of India ( ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...
to recognise sporting talents. In 1972, he received the Padmashri, India's fourth highest civilian honour. Other awards include CK Nayudu Lifetime achievement award, Sportsperson of the Year, and the Castrol Lifetime Achievement award.[
]
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wadekar, Ajit
1941 births
2018 deaths
Cricketers from Mumbai
India One Day International cricketers
India Test cricket captains
India Test cricketers
Indian cricketers
Mumbai cricketers
West Zone cricketers
Indian Universities cricketers
State Bank of India cricketers
Associated Cement Company cricketers
Indian cricket administrators
Cricket managers
Indian cricket coaches
Coaches of the Indian national cricket team
Recipients of the Arjuna Award
India national cricket team selectors
Recipients of the Padma Shri in sports