Ajit Wadekar, who taught India to win overseas, dies at 77; India mourns

Ajit Wadekar is one of the only three cricketers who represented India as a captain, coach, and national selector. The other two players are Chandu Borde and Lala Amarnath

BS Web Team/ Agencies 

Ajit Wadekar
Ajit Wadekar. Photo: @ICC

Former Indian cricket team captain Ajit Wadekar, who led India to maiden Test series wins in England and West Indies, died at the age of 77, at the Jaslok Hospital in South Mumbai on Wednesday, after suffering prolonged illness.

The aggressive batsman left an indelible mark on Indian cricket despite making a mere 37 Test appearances. He led India to triumphs in England and the West Indies in 1971. Wadekar also served as India's manager in the 1990s when Mohammed Azharuddin was the captain. He later went on to become the chairman of selectors as well.

He is survived by his wife Rekha, two sons, and a daughter.

Ajit Wadekar as Indian cricket captain in 1971

In 1971, Wadekar was appointed the captain of national cricket team after Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi opted out of the West Indies tour. He led the side that included players like youngster Sunil Gavaskar, Farokh Engineer, Gundappa Viswanath and the Indian spin quartet of Bishen Singh Bedi, E A S Prasanna, Bhagwat Chandrasekhar, and Srinivasaraghavan Venkataraghavan.

Under the captaincy of Wadekar, Dilip Sardesai and debutant Sunil Gavaskar excelled with the bat and India went on to beat Sir Garifield Sober's West Indies side to clinch the series 1-0. After a successful Caribbean series, he went to England where his team defeated the home side, inspired by B S Chandrasekhar's 6 for 38, at The Oval, to win the series 1-0. Wadekar also led India to a 2-1 win against England at home in 1972-73.

The end of Wadekar's captaincy was, however, quite cruel. During the 1974 tour of England, he lost the series 3-0, which included the infamous match in which India were bundled out for 42 runs at Lord's cricket ground. Wadekar was sacked after the England tour and shortly after, he announced retirement.

Ajit Wadekar records

An aggressive left-handed batsman, Wadekar made his first-class debut in 1958 before making his India debut in 1966. He played 37 Tests in which he scored 2,113 runs at an average of 31.07. His only century, a match-winning 143 at Wellington, came during India's 1967-68 tour of New Zealand, where India won a series away from home for the very first time. He was also India's first ODI captain, although he appeared in just two matches. Apart from his batting skills, Wadekar was also an excellent slip fielder.

Wadekar's Tests and ODIs record

Matches Innings Runs Average HS 100s 50s Strike Rate
Overall 37 71 2,113 31.07 143 1 14 NA
Home 15 30 894 31.92 91 0 6 NA
Away 22 41 1,219 30.47 143 1 8 NA
As Captain 16 29 749 26.75 90 0 4 NA
Eng (1971) 3 6 204 34 85 0 1 NA
WI (1971) 5 7 151 21.57 54 0 1 NA
ODIs 2 2 73 36.5 67 0 1 81.11


Wadekar after retirement

After retirement, Wadekar concentrated on his banking career and reached the top position in the State Bank of India. In 1992, he was summoned to take over as manager of an underperforming Indian team and a low-on-confidence skipper Mohammed Azharuddin. In the next four years, India went unbeaten at home, with Wadekar unleashing three young spinners -- Anil Kumble, Rajesh Chauhan and Venkatpathy Raju -- on the visiting teams.

The formula was an instant success.

Wadekar the personality

The soft-spoken Wadekar also had a brilliant sense of humour but knew when to crack the whip. A former India captain was seen endorsing a shoe brand during a practice session of the Indian team. Wadekar saw it and did not say a word. The legend has it, he called the senior fast bowler and told him, "You know I once made a batsman called Sunil Gavaskar open the bowling for India as captain. Hope you do not want that I make Tendulkar open the bowling instead of you".

Wadekar’s early life

Wadekar was born in Bombay in 1941. His father wished him to study Mathematics so that he could become an engineer, but Wadekar preferred to play cricket.

Ajit Wadekar Achievements
His father L B Wadekar would often say, "Mere toh naam mein hi LBW hain". With his demise, Indian cricket has lost one of its finest cricket brains, a statesman, and raconteur. Condolences started to pour in from every corner of the country. Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Wadekar was "a great batsman and wonderful captain" who made a "rich contribution to Indian cricket". "He led our team to some of the most memorable victories in our cricketing history", Modi posted on Twitter. While Head coach Ravi Shastri said it was “a sad moment for Indian cricket”.
First Published: Thu, August 16 2018. 07:09 IST