By Akanksha Raj
Sunil Gavaskar was irritated because the Indian team management delayed three days to recollect Dattajirajo before the Test match against England.
The Indian cricketers chose to wear black armbands on Day 3 of the third Test against England in Rajkot to honour Dattajirao Gaikwad, a former India captain who died on February 13 at the age of 95 in his birthplace of Baroda. Statistically, he was the oldest living Indian Test cricketer since Deepak Shodhan passed away in 2016. The renowned Sunil Gavaskar was furious because it took the Indian team management three days into the Test match to realize it.
The third Test started on February 15, two days after Gaikwad died, however there was no armband on the Indian cricketers’ jerseys on the first day. The story was told again on Day 2. The BCCI just declared on Saturday that Rohit Sharma and his teammates will be wearing black armbands on the pitch.
“Team India will wear black armbands in memory of Dattajirao Gaekwad, former India captain and the country’s oldest Test cricketer, who died recently,” the BCCI announced in a release before the third day of play.
Gavaskar was disappointed that it was not on the first day. “Better late than never… they should’ve done it on Day 1, but better late than never,” Gavaskar said on commentary as the players took to the pitch. “He captained the Indian squad during a five-match series. “He captained four of the five matches, with Pankaj Roy captaining the other,” Gavaskar remarked.
The BCCI issued a condolence message hours after Gaikwad’s death on Tuesday. “The BCCI extends its heartfelt condolences on the loss of Dattajirao Gaekwad, former India captain and India’s oldest Test cricketer. He played 11 Tests and led the squad during India’s 1959 tour of England. Under his guidance, Baroda won the Ranji Trophy in 1957-58, defeating Services in the final. “The Board extends its heartfelt condolences to Gaekwad’s family, friends, and admirers,” it said.
He played 11 Tests and headed India’s tour of England in 1959. Baroda won the Ranji Trophy in 1957-58, defeating Services in the final, while he was captain.
Those cover drives were a nightmare for Bombay (Mumbai) teams in the 1950s, but they never really worked when he played at the highest level from 1952 to 1961.
His son Aunshuman, who played 40 Tests from the 1970s to the 1980s, fared better with a tight defensive technique than his father.
He was a nightmare for Bombay teams in the 1950s and once scored a double century, but Hazare’s 126 was remembered more by old-timers.
The right-hander made his debut against England in Leeds in 1952, and his final international appearance came against Pakistan in Chennai in 1961.
Gaekwad played for Baroda in the Ranji Trophy between 1947 and 1961. He scored 3139 runs for an average of 47.56, including 14 hundreds.
His highest score was 249 not out against Maharashtra in the 1959-60 season.
He became India’s oldest living Test cricketer in 2016, following the death of former hitter Shodhan at the age of 87 in Ahmedabad.