Ajit Wadekar

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Ajit Wadekar
Personal information
Full name Ajit Laxman Wadekar
Born (1941-04-01) 1 April 1941 (age 83)
Bombay, India now (Mumbai, Maharashtra.India).
Batting style Left-handed batsman
Bowling style Left-arm medium, Slow left-arm orthodox
Role Batsman
International information
National side
Test debut 13 December 1966 v West Indies
Last Test 4 July 1974 v England
ODI debut 13 July 1974 v England
Last ODI 15 July 1974 v England
Domestic team information
Years Team
1958/59–1974/75 Bombay
Career statistics
Competition Test ODI FC LA
Matches 37 2 237 5
Runs scored 2,113 73 15,380 192
Batting average 31.07 36.50 47.03 63.33
100s/50s 1/14 0/1 36/84 0/2
Top score 143 67* 323 87
Balls bowled 51 – 1,622 –
Wickets 0 – 21 –
Bowling average – – 43.23 –
5 wickets in innings – 0 0 0
10 wickets in match – n/a 0 n/a
Best bowling – – 2/0 –
Catches/stumpings 46/– 1/0 271/0 3/–
Source: [1], 28 September 2012

Ajit Laxman Wadekar (Audio file "Ajit_Wadekar.ogg" not found; born 1 April 1941 in Bombay, India) is a former international cricketer who played for India 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 the series in England and West Indies. The Government of India honoured him with the Arjuna Award (1967) and Padmashri (1972), India's fourth highest civilian honour.

Biography

Early life and introduction to cricket

Born in Bombay, Wadekar's father wished him to study Mathematics so that he could become an engineer, but Wadekar instead preferred to play cricket. He made his first-class debut for Bombay in 1958–59, before making his international debut in Test in December 1966, against the West Indies at the Brabourne Stadium 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.

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, Gundappa Viswanath, Farokh Engineer, and the Indian spin quartet that included Bishen Bedi, E.A.S. Prasanna, Bhagwat Chandrasekhar and Srinivasaraghavan Venkataraghavan. He became the first Indian captain to achieve overseas wins while touring the West Indies and England in 1971. 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 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 (ODI) game during that tour. Batting at number three, Wadekar made 67 runs, but still ended on the losing side.[1] He made scored 73 runs in his ODI career at an average of 36.50 with a strike rate of 81.11.[2] Following India's dismal performance in the series, he retired from international cricket.[3] 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. He is one of the few Indians to represent the country as Test player, captain, coach/manager and the chairman of selectors. Lala Amarnath and Chandu Borde are the only other players to achieve this distinction.[4][5]

Career statistics

Records against opponents

Wadekar's performance in Test matches[6]
Opponent Matches Runs scored Highest score Average 100's Catches
 Australia 9 548 99 32.23 0 8
 England 14 840 91 31.11 0 15
 New Zealand 7 495 143 38.07 1 16
 West Indies 7 230 67 20.90 0 7

Test centuries

Wadekar's Test centuries
No. Score Against Pos. Inn. Venue Date Result
1 143  New Zealand 3 2 Basin Reserve, Wellington 29 February 1968 Won[7]

Awards and honours

Wadekar was honoured with the Arjuna Award, instituted by the Government of India to recognise sporting talents.[8] In 1972, he received the Padmashri, India's fourth highest civilian honour.[9] Other awards include CK Nayudu Lifetime achievement award,[3] Sportsperson of the Year,[10] and the Castrol Lifetime Achievement award.[10]

References

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External links

Preceded by Indian National Test Cricket Captain
1970/71–1974		 Succeeded by
Nawab of Pataudi Jr
Preceded by Indian National Cricket Manager
October 1992 – March 1996		 Succeeded by
Sandeep Patil
Preceded by Chairman, Selection Committee
October 1998 – September 1999		 Succeeded by
Chandu Borde
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