Former Indian cricket captain Ajit Wadekar, who led India to their first ever Test series victories in West Indies and England passed away at the age of 77 in Mumbai on Wednesday.
Wadekar, who was reportedly suffering from cancer breathed his last at the Jaslok Hospital in South Mumbai.
An aggressive top-order batsman and one of the finest slip-fielders, Wadekar made his debut for the Indian national team in 1966 against the West Indies in his home ground in Mumbai. But cricket was not his first passion and it was only after a chance meeting with former Indian cricketer Baloo Gupte during a bus ride to the Elphinstone College that the late left-hander took to playing the game.
After making his debut under Manssor Ali Khan Pataudi, Wadekar went on to become the Indian captain and was an instant success leading the country to consecutive series victories over the mighty West Indies and England in 1971. Leading some of the greatest players of the game in Sunil Gavaskar, Gundappa Viswanath, Farokh Engineer and the spin quartet of Bishan Bedi, BS Chandrasekhar, E.A.S. Prasanna and Srinivasaraghavan Venkataraghavan he conquered the Caribbean and English, beating both the teams 1-0 in five and three-match Test series respectively to become the first Indian captain to win a Test series abroad.
The Arjuna award (1967) winner also became the first Indian captain to win three successive series when India beat the touring English side 2-1 in 1972-73. He was also bestowed with the Padmashri award in the same year.
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His use of the available resources, especially the spinners made it possible for India to defeat the superior West Indies and England teams. Wadekar went on to play 37 Test matches plundering 2113 runs at an average of 31.07 with 14 half-centuries and one hundred. He also played two One-Day internationals scoring 73 runs.
In first-class cricket, he represented Bombay and led them to four Ranji Trophy triumphs in 1968-69, 1969-70, 1971-72 and 1972-73 scoring 15,380 runs with 36 centuries and 84 half-centuries.
After retiring from the game in 1974, Wadekar went on to serve as the manager of the Indian cricket team during Mohammad Azharuddin’s captaincy in the 1990s. He remains one of the only three players to represent the country as a Test player, captain, coach or manager and the chairman of selectors. Lala Amarnath and Chandu Borde are the other two players to achieve this distinction.