Dattajirao Krishnarao Gaekwad (born 27 October 1928), known as Datta Gaekwad, is a former Indian

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 str ...

er. He appeared in 11 Test matches, toured England in 1952 and 1959 and West Indies in 1952–53. He captained the Indian team in the 1959 tour. As a batsman Gaekwad "possessed a sure defence and delightfully crisp shots especially through the covers". He was also an occasional

leg spin Leg spin is a type of spin bowling in cricket. A leg spinner bowls right-arm with a wrist spin action. The leg spinner's normal delivery causes the ball to spin from right to left (from the bowler's perspective) when the ball bounces on the ...

bowler. Since May 2016, he has been India's oldest living Test cricketer.

Biography

Gaekwad played his early cricket for Bombay University and the Maharaja Sayaji University in

Baroda Vadodara (), also known as Baroda, is the second largest city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It serves as the administrative headquarters of the Vadodara district and is situated on the banks of the Vishwamitri River, from the state capital ...

. He made his Test debut in the first Test of 1952 tour of England, in

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popula ...

. He opened the innings for India despite never having done so before the tour. He was one among four victims dismissed for no score in the second innings of the Test. His West Indies tour in the next year was terminated during the second Test when he collided with

Vijay Hazare Vijay Samuel Hazare (11 March 1915 – 18 December 2004) was an Indian cricketer. He captained India in 14 matches between 1951 and 1953. In India's 25th Test match, nearly 20 years after India achieved Test status, he led India to its first ...

while going for a catch and dislocated his shoulder. In 1957–58, he captained

to their first Ranji Trophy title in nine years, scoring a century in the final against

Services Service may refer to: Activities * Administrative service, a required part of the workload of university faculty * Civil service, the body of employees of a government * Community service, volunteer service for the benefit of a community or a p ...

. He scored 218 against the defending champions

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second-m ...

during the course of the season. He was recalled to the Indian team for the final Test against

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 ...

in 1958–59. His 52 in the second innings was the only Test fifty of his career and went some way towards India earning a draw. India had had four captains in the series against West Indies, and with

Hemu Adhikari Colonel Hemchandra "Hemu" Ramachandra Adhikari (31 July 1919 – 25 October 2003) was an Indian cricketer, representing his country as both a player and a coach in a career that spanned three decades. Life and career A talented right-h ...

, the captain in the Fifth Test, being unavailable, Gaekwad was appointed to lead the Indian team on the tour of England in 1959. Between his selection and the beginning of the tour, he contracted

typhoid Typhoid fever, also known as typhoid, is a disease caused by ''Salmonella'' serotype Typhi bacteria. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often there is a gradual onset of a high fever over several d ...

, and was never fully fit during the tour. He still played in 23 of the 33 first-class matches and was one of the team's leading scorers, with 1174 runs at an average of 34.52. He played in four of the five Tests, but scored only 128 runs at an average of 16.00. India lost all five Tests, and Gaekwad appeared in only one more Test. '' Wisden's'' summary of the tour said that he appeared not to have "the verve and personality" for the task, and that a "more active approach", especially in field placing, might have been more successful. It added: "There were times when his cover fielding was brilliant, and his innings of 176 against

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire a ...

made many wonder why he was not more successful." In the Ranji Trophy he scored 3139 runs with 14 centuries and a highest of 249 against Maharashtra in 1959–60.

Personal life

Gaekwad is the father of the Indian opener

Anshuman Gaekwad Anshuman Dattajirao Gaekwad (born 23 September 1952) is a former Indian cricketer and two-time Indian national cricket coach. He played in 40 Test matches and 15 One Day Internationals. His father Datta Gaekwad also played Test Cricket for I ...

. He was distantly related to the Baroda royal family and served as the Deputy comptroller to the Baroda state. On the death of Deepak Shodhan in May 2016 he became India's oldest living Test cricketer.

References

* Rajan Bala, ''The Covers are Off''. Bala suggests that one of the reasons for the fiasco of the 1959 tour was the resentment of Bombay players towards those from Baroda.

External links

* *
Cricinfo interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gaekwad, Datta 1928 births Living people Baroda cricketers India Test cricket captains India Test cricketers Indian cricketers Indian Universities cricketers West Zone cricketers People from Vadodara Cricketers from Gujarat