Bengaluru, August 15: Former India cricket captain Ajit Wadekar, 77, passed away at the Jaslok Hospital in Mumbai on Wednesday (August 15) after a prolonged battle against cancer.
Under Wadekar India achieved their first away series win against the West Indies in 1971 and then beat England in the same year. Wadekar was made the captain of the Indian cricket team in 1971, leading a side that included players like Sunil Gavaskar, Gundappa Viswanath, Farokh Engineer, and the Indian spin quartet that included Bishen Bedi, EAS Prasanna, BS Chandrasekhar and S Venkataraghavan.
Sad moment for Indian cricket to lose one of its most successful captains. Shrewd to the core. Condolences to the entire family #TeamIndia #RIPAjitWadekar pic.twitter.com/0xC0fv3Ark
— Ravi Shastri (@RaviShastriOfc) August 15, 2018
Wadekar played 37 Test matches for India scoring 2113 runs with a hundred and 14 fifties. His lone hundred came against New Zealand at Wellington in 1968. The Mumbaikar also appeared in two ODIs for India. He had made his first-class debut for Bombay (now Mumbai) in 1958-59, before making his Test debut in December 1966, against the West Indies at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai.
After his retirement, Wadekar also served as the manager of the Indian cricket team in the 1990s, alongside captain Mohammad Azharuddin and it was a successful period for Indian cricket as they swept aside opposition at home conditions with Anil Kumble, Venkatpathy Raju and Rajesh Chauhan spinning a web.
The year 1971: the year of Sam Manekshaw, Indira Gandhi, Rajesh Khanna, and Indian cricket. As captain of the victorious team, Ajit Wadekar was the man who became the face of Indian cricket’s first major overseas triumph. RIP
— Rajdeep Sardesai (@sardesairajdeep) August 15, 2018
Wadekar was one of the few Indians to represent the country as Test player, captain, coach/manager and the chairman of selectors. Lala Amarnath and Chandu Borde are the only other players to achieve this distinction.