Ajit Wadekar

Ajit Wadekar

Personal information
Full name	Ajit Laxman Wadekar
Born	1 April 1941 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	India
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: , 28 September 2012

Ajit Laxman Wadekar ( pronunciation ; 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

1. "Prudential Trophy – 1st ODI England v India". ESPNCricinfo. Retrieved 29 September 2012.
2. "Statistics / Statsguru / AL Wadekar / One-Day Internationals / Innings by innings list". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 29 September 2012.
3. "Wadekar to get BCCI lifetime achievement award". ESPNcricinfo. 22 November 2011. Retrieved 29 September 2012.
4. "The many 'avatars' of Lala Amarnath". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 2012-09-28.
5. "Borde Shares Wadekar's Distinction". Rediff.com. 28 September 1999. Retrieved 2012-09-28.
6. "Statistics / Statsguru / AL Wadekar / Test matches / Career summary". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 29 September 2012.
7. "India in New Zealand Test Series – 3rd Test". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 29 September 2012.
8. "Arjun Award Winners for "Cricket"". Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports (India). Retrieved 29 September 2012.
9. "Padma Awards Directory (1954–2009)" (PDF). Ministry of Home Affairs. p. 151. Retrieved 29 September 2012.
10. Subbaiah, Sunil (30 August 2012). "Year of awards for me: Ajit Wadekar". The Times of India. Retrieved 29 September 2012.

External links

• Player Profile: Ajit Wadekar from CricketArchive
• Player Profile: Ajit Wadekar from ESPNcricinfo