He had been keeping unwell for quite a while and fraternity was aware of the fact but learning about Ajit Wadekar’s demise came as a sad day for Indian Cricket as well as Mumbai Cricket. At the age of 77, the legend passed away on Wednesday at Jaslok Hospital leaving the fans sobbing in tears.
Incidentally, the left-hander engineered and led the Indian team to a first away series win in England while the current squad is struggling in the same land. His struggle in the domestic circuit before making a cut in the national team will remain as a lesson for the youngsters who lose hope too early. It took the man about nine years to earn an Indian cap and the rest is history.
Wadekar was a crafty number three batsman and a nifty fielder in the slips. Also the skipper under whom, a marvel in the name of Sunil Gavaskar climbed the steps to becoming the best. It was the tour of West Indies in 1970-71 when Gavaskar made his debut under Wadekar and went on to score 774 runs in eight innings of the same series. The team propelled to a series victory against Sir Gary Sobers’ West Indian side.
The same year saw another surprise from Wadekar and Co. He had just taken over from the governing chap, Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi and delivered a win against then heroes Windies. However, the duo shared a hale and hearty association. In many of his interview, Pataudi had cleared the air out with humour.
But in 1971, Wadekar side created headlines that fans longed for, ‘India beat England in England!’, including the famous win at the Oval. The first ever win against the dictators of the sport in their homeland for the first time, it was a dream like having television sets back then. The series was heard on radio tells a fan from that era.
Not just a captain, he was an extraordinary guru with understanding of the sport. He took the job as Team India’s manager in the 1990’s when another legend from Mumbai was in the making- Sachin Tendulkar. “He was someone who was instrumental in bringing out the best in us during the 90s. We’ll always be grateful for his advice and guidance,” tweeted Sachin on Thursday.
Not just Sachin, Vinod Kambli also shared a closer relationship with Wadekar. Kambli recalls the long chats he used to have with him on Whatsapp. “One of the last messages that he had sent was asking me to have a special fish dish. He made it once but I had to travel and now it will remain pending forever. He was like a father, it is a personal loss honestly,” says Kambli.
Wadekar left with not the best of test cricket records, with just one century in 37 test matches, but the memories that he has given to Indian Cricket will remain untouched. A frank, chirpy and most essentially humorous, Ajit Wadekar will be missed by the fraternity.
