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Home › Teams › India › Players › Ajit Wadekar

Ajit Wadekar

Full Name
Ajit Laxman Wadekar
Born
01-04-1941 Bombay (now Mumbai), Maharashtra, India
Died On
August 15, 2018

Major Teams
India
Batting Style
Left-hand bat
Bowling Style
Left-arm medium, Slow left-arm
Ajit Wadekar

Photos: Ajit Wadekar

  • India register their first Test series win in England

    India register their first Test series win in England

  • 42 all out: India’s lowest-ever total in Test history

    42 all out: India’s lowest-ever total in Test history

  • Indian team lands in London for their England tour in 1971

    Indian team lands in London for their England tour in 1971

Videos: Ajit Wadekar

  • Sachin Tendulkar’s retired due to the burden of expectation, feels Ajit Wadekar

    Sachin Tendulkar’s retired due to the burden of expectation, feels Ajit Wadekar

  • Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, Sunil Gavaskar felicitated at BCCI Annual Awards 2012

    Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, Sunil Gavaskar felicitated at BCCI Annual Awards 2012

  • Indian cricketers felicitated at BCCI Annual Awards2012

    Indian cricketers felicitated at BCCI Annual Awards2012

  • Sachin Tendulkar felicitated at BCCI Annual Awards 2012

    Sachin Tendulkar felicitated at BCCI Annual Awards 2012

Ajit Wadekar Biography

Ajit Wadekar’s name will always be written in gold in the history of Indian cricket for the twin victories in West Indies and England in a space of months. He then led India to a win over England at home. India then lost a series in England, and poof! Wadekar was not only sacked, he was dropped for good.

The first Indian left-handed batsman to score 2,000 Test runs, Wadekar eventually finished with 2,113 runs from 37 Tests at 31. At No. 3 alone he got 1,899 of these, a record that stood among Indians for a decade.

Despite his bony frame, Wadekar could smash the ball extremely hard. He developed a technique unique to his own, batting with an open stance with his feet wide apart. He slammed 15,380 runs at 47 in a First-Class career that spanned 17 years. In Ranji Trophy alone his 4,388 runs came at 59. He was the fulcrum of the Bombay side during their famous run in the 1960s; the streak came when he slipped and got run out in the semi-final of 1972-73.

His best innings, a whirlwind 323, came against Mysore in 1966-67. On India’s tour of Australia in 1967-68, Sam Gannon knocked his tooth out with a bouncer and clean bowled him next ball in a tour match.

He came to his elements in New Zealand, where India won their first Test and series away from home. At Dunedin he scored 80 and 71, and at Wellington, a career-best 143. India won both Tests, and Wadekar led the charts with 328 runs at 47.

He famously replaced Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi as captain after Vijay Merchant’s casting-vote, and produced instant results with his twin victories. He confused Garry Sobers, asking him to follow-on after a 170-run lead (rightly so, for it was a four-day Test), and bothered the Sobers even more when he locked Sunil Gavaskar — lucky charm for the ‘great man’ — in the bathroom.

He unleashed a four-pronged spin attack at Queen’s Park Oval, and India, fortified by some splendid batting from Dilip Sardesai and Gavaskar, won their first Test against West Indies.

In England, Wadekar left EAS Prasanna out in favour of Bhagwat Chandrasekhar, who bowled in tandem with Bishan Singh Bedi and Srinivas Venkataraghavan. The decision did not go down very well with Prasanna, but it led to India’s maiden Test and series victory on English soil.

India were set 173 in the historic Test at The Oval. After Gavaskar fell for a duck, Wadekar smashed 45, returned to the dressing-room, and fell asleep, missing out on history being created under his leadership. The next winter he led India to a series win after England went up 1-0.

Unfortunately, India played terrible cricket in England in 1974, the ‘Summer of 42’; to make things more complicated, there were disciplinary issues raised against the team. His career came to an end, though not before he became India’s first ODI captain.

After he was dropped from the West Zone Duleep Trophy side (he was their captain at that time), a fuming Wadekar announced retirement from First-Class cricket.

He served India as manager in the 1990s, forming an excellent rapport with captain Mohammad Azharuddin. During their tenure India did not lose a single series at home. During this period he suffered from a heart-attack in Sharjah, where India were playing the Austral-Asia Cup.

In 1998-99 Wadekar became the second cricketer after Lala Amarnath to assume the roles of captain, manager (or coach), and Chairman of Selectors of the Indian cricket team.

Wadekar won the Arjuna Award, the Padma Shri, the Castrol Lifetime Achievement Award, and above all, the CK Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award. He worked for State Bank of India.

Abhishek Mukherjee

Ajit Wadekar Batting & Fielding Averages

Career M In R NO HS Avg BF SR 100s 50s 4s 6s Ct St
Test 37 71 2113 3 143 31.07 2385 88.59 1 14 231 -- 46 0
ODIs 2 2 73 0 67 36.50 90 81.11 0 1 11 0 1 0
T20s 0 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
World Cup 0 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

Ajit Wadekar Bowling Averages

Career M B R W Avg EC SR 5WI 10WM BBI BBM
Test 37 61 55 0 -- 5.409 -- 0 0 0/0 0/0
ODIs 2 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
T20s 0 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
World Cup 0 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

Ajit Wadekar Career statistics

Test Debut

India v West Indies at Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai, December 13, 1966

Last Test

England v India at Edgbaston, Birmingham, July 4, 1974

ODI Debut

England v India at Headingley, Leeds, July 13, 1974

Last ODI

England v India at Kennington Oval, Kennington, July 15, 1974

News ON Ajit Wadekar

Gavaskar recollects having to bat wearing Wadekar’s pads

Gavaskar said that it was not the most comfortable option because Wadekar was a left-handed batsman.

LIST: India’s maiden away Test series wins

With their maiden Test series win in Australia, India now have a wins in every Test nation barring South Africa.

Entire Mumbai team wanted to perform for Ajit Wadekar in the 1970s: Milind Rege

Rege, who played as a batsman and off-break bowler for Mumbai in the 1970s and for the most part under former India and Mumbai captain ...

Mumbai Cricket Association to hold condolence meet for Ajit Wadekar

The Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) on Saturday announced that it will hold a condolence meeting to condole the death of former India ...

Indian players wear black armbands as a mark of respect to Ajit Wadekar and Atal Bihari Vajpayee

Indian players, led by Virat Kohli, were seen wearing black armbands in memory of the departed former skipper in Trent Bridge

Mumbai bids tearful adieu to former India captain Ajit Wadekar

Wadekar's body was kept at his Worli residence this morning for his well-wishers to pay their tributes. Cricket legend Sachin ...

More News on Ajit Wadekar

Features ON Ajit Wadekar

    India in New Zealand to Sri Lanka in South Africa: When Asian teams made history

    From India in 1967-68 to India in 2018-19, a look back at Asian teams making history.

    LIST: India’s maiden away Test series wins

    With their maiden Test series win in Australia, India now have a wins in every Test nation barring South Africa.

    How many overseas Test series have India won?

    Virat Kohli's team can retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy with victory over Australia in Perth.

    If Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi brought dignity, Ajit Wadekar brought toughness

    While Pataudi brought the idea of playing together as a team to the fore, Wadekar brought the toughness of Mumbai cricket to the ...

    Indian Test triumphs in England, Part 1: Ajit Wadekar’s men create history at The Oval, 1971

    India had lost 15 out of their 19 Tests on English soil before the tour, drawing only rest. In fact had lost 11 of their last 12, the ...

    Mumbai’s 500th match: Another milestone for the Ranji Trophy heavyweights

    With a winning percentage of 47 in Ranji Trophy matches and 56.94 in the Ranji Trophy finals, Mumbai surely stands apart. In Amre's ...

    More Features on Ajit Wadekar


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