ajit wadekar Profile - ICC Profile, Age, Career Info & Stats.
ajit wadekar is a cricketer(sportsman) from India. His ICC profile, age, career info & stats are given below.
Full Name
Ajit Laxman Wadekar
Born
April 01, 1941, Bombay (now Mumbai), Maharashtra
Died
August 15, 2018, Mumbai, Maharashtra, (aged 77 years old)
Batting Style
Left hand Bat
Bowling Style
Left arm Medium, Slow Left arm Orthodox
Playing Role
Top order Batter
Other
Referee
Batting Stats
Test | ODI | T20I | IPL | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Mat | 37 | 2 | - | - |
Inn | 71 | 2 | - | - |
Runs | 2113 | 73 | - | - |
Avg | 31.07 | 36.5 | - | - |
SR | 87.21 | 81.11 | - | - |
HS | 143 | 67 | - | - |
NO | 3 | 0 | - | - |
100s | 1 | 0 | - | - |
50s | 14 | 1 | - | - |
4s | 217 | 11 | - | - |
6s | 2 | 0 | - | - |
Bowling Stats
Test | ODI | T20I | IPL | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Mat | 37 | 2 | - | - |
Inn | 7 | - | - | - |
Balls | 61 | - | - | - |
Runs | 55 | - | - | - |
Wkt | 0 | - | - | - |
BBI | 0 / 0 | - | - | - |
BBM | 0 / 0 | - | - | - |
Eco | 5.41 | - | - | - |
Avg | 0.0 | - | - | - |
5W | 0 | - | - | - |
10W | 0 | - | - | - |
Teams he has played for:
- India
- Mumbai
Heres what CricBuzz says about him.
One of the best Indian left-handers to have ever played the game, Wadekar was an accidental product in cricket. Studying to pursue a career in engineering, he impressed his college's coach as the twelfth man with his skills, leading to a promotion to the bigger league. After his debut for Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy in 1958-59, he notched up a string of impressive performances. But it took him eight long years of toil in the domestic circuit to finally be picked up for the national side.
Once an India cap followed, it didn't take him long to establish himself as one of the most dependable players, anchoring the innings at number three and also as one of the safest slip catchers of that era. But the biggest feather in his hat, and what he's most likely to be remembered for, is his leadership in 1971 that took India to their first ever series wins in the West Indies and in England.
The then selector, Vijay Merchant saw potential in Wadekar's abilities and picked him to replaced MAK Pataudi as India's captain. His strategies to rotate the spin-quartet, the decision to impose the follow-on against the mighty Windies that deflated them mentally for their next game were such key moments where Wadekar's captaincy stood out. He capped this up with another victory against England, this time at home in 1972-73. All this was despite his personal form slumping since he took over as skipper, but the victories were good enough to camouflage.
The honeymoon period, however, came down crashing rather prematurely in the 'English Summer of 42' in 1974, where India's thrashing involved them getting all-out for 42 in an innings at Lord's, after having arrived in England as arguably the best side in world cricket.
In what was a trend in Indian cricket, the skipper was made the scapegoat for the defeat and Wadekar was axed from the side. He immediately announced his retirement from international cricket.
He returned to the cricketing fold in the early 1990s as the manager-cum-coach of the Indian side and forged a solid partnership with Mohammad Azharuddin, during a successful phase for Indian cricket. In 2007, he was one of the many cricketers who joined the rebel Indian Cricket League (as a match referee), but soon returned back to the BCCI fold in 2009. In 2011, he was awarded the 'Lifetime Achievement Award' at the annual BCCI ceremony.
Despite his telling achievements, a tag that stuck with him was that of a 'lucky skipper', primarily because it was believed that he rode on the success of the platform laid by his predecessor, MAK Pataudi. Nevertheless, many of his contemporaries have always praised his shrewd thinking and his tactical genius.
He passed away in August 2018, with a rich legacy behind him in Indian and Mumbai cricket.
Written by - Vineet Anantharaman
Heres what ESPNcricinfo says about him.
An aggressive left-hand batsman who became slightly bogged down by responsibility, Ajit Wadekar's name will forever be linked with 1971 when he led the Indian team to historic triumphs in the West Indies and England. Wadekar made his first-class debut in 1958-59 but had to wait eight years before playing for India in 1966-67, despite a string of big scores around the domestic circuit. But he took little time to establish himself in the Indian team and was a tower of strength to the Indian batting for seven years, playing scintillating or valuable knocks depending upon the state of the game. He was one of the best No. 3 batsmen in the history of Indian cricket and one of the finest slip fielders.
Vijay Merchant's casting vote as chairman of the selection committee ended MAK Pataudi's long reign as Indian captain and handed over the leadership to Wadekar in January 1971. He proved himself to be a capable captain, if not a shrewd tactician, and a combination of circumstances, and a fair share of good fortune, led to India beating West Indies and then England. A third successive series triumph over England, this time at home, followed in 1972-73 and Wadekar was at his peak as batsman and captain when he led India to England in 1974. What followed was anti climax. All three Tests were lost by margins that brooked no argument in what went down as the inglorious `Summer of 42'. Made a scapegoat, Wadekar was forced to retire, although a reluctance to spend time away from his young family would probably have led to him standing down whatever the outcome of the tour. Almost three decades later he renewed his association with Indian cricket as a successful manager of victorious Indian teams, striking a particularly good working relationship with Mohammad Azharuddin.
In 2007, Wadekar joined the ICL where he served as a match referee, but was released from his contract with the unofficial league and was granted amnesty by the BCCI in 2009.
Partab Ramchand June 2009