Pankaj Dharmani: 15 interesting things to know about India’s one-cap wonder

Born September 27, 1974, Pankaj Dharmani is one of Indian cricket’s domestic circuit stalwarts. A wicket-keeper batsman, Dharmani remained the lynchpin of the Punjab Ranji team for close to two decades.

 

Born September 27, 1974, Pankaj Dharmani is one of Indian cricket’s domestic circuit stalwarts. A wicket-keeper batsman, Dharmani remained the lynchpin of the Punjab Ranji team for close to two decades. A solid middle-order batsman with a First-Class average above 50, Dharmani played a solitary One-Day International (ODI) for India during the Titan Cup in 1996. On his 41st birthday, Chinmay Jawalekar looks at 15 facts about the tireless servant of the Punjab team.

 

1.  First toy

Pankaj Dharmani was probably always destined to play cricket. This became evident at a very early age, as it is being said that as a child, his first toy was a cricket bat.

 

2.  First-Class debut: Mixed emotions

Dharmani made his First-Class debut for Punjab against Maharashtra in the Ranji Trophy final of the 1992-93 season. He was left with mixed emotions after the final, as Punjab won the match and went on to become the domestic champions, but Dharmani personally had a bad game, as he fell for a twin score of 1 run in both the innings.

 

3.  Specialist batsman

Though Dharmani played as a wicket-keeper batsman for the majority of his career, he was picked as a specialist batsman for his First-Class debut and later for his international debut as well.

 

4.  Watershed season I

After the failure, he got sporadic chances and it was only in the 1994-95 season that he cemented his position in the Punjab team. In the five matches that he played that season, he scored 410 runs at a massive average of 136.66. This included two hundreds, with one of them being a double (223 not out against Delhi, that came while opening the innings.) He also took 12 catches that came his way and affected two stumpings. After the fruitful season, his name started doing the rounds for India selection.

 

5.  The moment of fame

The India call-up came, pretty sooner than later. He was called up for the Titan Cup, a tri-series involving Australia and South Africa, in October 1996. Undoubtedly the best day of his young life, Dharmani once spoke about it in an interview. He was returning to Patiala from Mohali when he noticed a slew of cars parked outside his house. Before he could fathom what was happening, his mother rushed out with the words: “You’re in the Indian team.”

 

6.  International debut

After three matches on the bench, he made his debut against South Africa in Jaipur. Chasing 249, India got a slow but steady start as both Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly notched up half-centuries in their 126-run opening stand. But once they got out, the middle order crumbled under pressure of scoring quickly. Young Dharmani, who was playing as a specialist batsman and was originally slotted to go in at five, eventually walked out to bat at seven, as Javagal Srinath and Ajay Jadeja went before him to counter the rising scoring rate. By the time he was at crease, the asking rate was already nine an over. He managed a run-a-ball eight before Fanie de Villiers cleaned him up. India lost by 27 runs.

 

7.  African Safari

After the forgettable debut, Dharmani was picked again for the Test tour of South Africa later that year, though he didn’t get a game. He was retained for the ODIs in place of VVS Laxman, who was ruled out because of an injury, and again only warmed the benches. He ended the tour with just four tour games, where he didn’t do anything notable and never played for India again.

 

8.  The penalty

Dharmani, though didn’t play for India on the tour, got penalised by the match referee during the third Test in Johannesburg. The series was lost and India had only pride to play for in the game. The game, as it happened, turned out to be a cliff-hanger. Chasing 356, the South Africans held out for an exciting draw with only two wickets remaining. Indians, who were desperate to win it, left no stone unturned and appealed for almost anything. As a result, Ganguly and Dharmani, who was a substitute, were fined a quarter of their match fees for their aggressive appealing for a catch against Adam Bacher.

 

9.  Watershed season II (The triple century)

Dharmani was in the form of his life in the 1999-2000 First-Class season, where in 13 matches, he scored 1194 runs, out of which 608 came without being dismissed. He also entered the elite list of triple centurions in First-Class cricket when he scored 305 not out against Jammu and Kashmir. Such was his form that his scores in that season read: 70, 305 not out, 202 not out and 101. Sadly, the India call-up still remained far from reality.

 

10.  Top scorer for Punjab in Ranji Trophy

During the 2007-2008 season, Dharmani became the highest overall run-scorer for his state in the Ranji Trophy. With his 7.621 runs, he’s also seventh on the list of most runs scored in the history of the competition, behind the likes of Wasim Jaffer, Amol Muzumdar, Hrishikesh Kanitkar, Mithun Manhas, Devendra Bundela and Amarjit Kaypee.

 

11.  Impressive First-Class stats

Dharmani’s First-Class statistics show his class. In the 147 games that he played, he scored 9,312 runs at an average of tad above 50. His List A average of just below 40 proves that he was effective in the shorter format too.

 

12.  IPL

By the time Indian Premier League came calling, Dharmani was at the fag end of his career. He had his final hurrah as he was included in the Kings XI Punjab squad for the inaugural season and played his only game against Chennai Super Kings, without getting a chance to bat.

 

13.  Retirement

Dharmani retired from the game in the year 2011. A domestic workhorse, it was only normal for him had he kept any regrets from his career. But he signed-off from the game on a happy note. In an interview to The Hindu in 2013, he said, “A couple of years before retiring, I had made up my mind that I should go out happily and without any regrets.”

 

14.  Post-retirement

Dharmani continued to turn out for his State Bank of Patiala side post-retirement till 2013. He also served Punjab cricket as a selector.

 

15.  Match referee

In his new role, Dharmani is now associated with the game in the capacity of a match referee. His job, which he finds a challenging one, keeps him busy and he’s happy for it.

 

(A self-confessed cricket freak, Chinmay Jawalekar is senior content writer with Criclife. When not writing or following cricket, he loves to read, eat and sleep. He can be followed at @CricfreakTweets)

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