Dattajirao Gaekwad, India's oldest Test cricketer, passes away at 95
Dattajirao Gaekwad, India's oldest Test cricketer, passes away at 95
Dattajirao Gaekwad, India’s oldest Test cricketer and former captain, passed away on Tuesday due to age-related ailments. The veteran cricketer was 95. Gaekwad, who was the father of former India opener and head coach Anshuman Gaekwad, passed way on Tuesday morning in the ICU of a Baroda hospital where he was admitted for the past 12 days, news agency PTI reported.
Dattajirao played 11 Tests for India between 1952 and 1961 and captained the senior side on the tour of England in 1959. The right-handed batter made his India debut during a game against England in 1952 and his last match came against Pakistan at Chennai in January 1961
Overall in 11 Tests, he scored 350 runs at an average of 18.42 and collected one fifty.
In 110 First-Class matches, he scored 5788 runs at an average of 36.40 and smashed 17 hundred including his best of 249 not out for Baroda against Maharashtra in the 1959-60 season of Ranji Trophy.
Dattajirao became India’s oldest living Test cricketer in 2016 after the death of former batter Deepak Shodhan at the age of 87 in Ahmedabad.
The BCCI expresses its profound grief at the passing away of Dattajirao Gaekwad, former India captain and India’s oldest Test cricketer. He played in 11 Tests and led the team during India’s Tour of England in 1959. Under his captaincy, Baroda also won the Ranji Trophy in the… pic.twitter.com/HSUArGrjDF
— BCCI (@BCCI) February 13, 2024
The BCCI paid its tribute to Dattajirao on X (formerly X) with a social media post. The board wrote: “The BCCI expresses its profound grief at the passing away of Dattajirao Gaekwad, former India captain and India’s oldest Test cricketer. He played in 11 Tests and led the team during India’s Tour of England in 1959. Under his captaincy, Baroda also won the Ranji Trophy in the 1957-58 season, beating Services in the final. The Board expresses its heartfelt condolences to Gaekwad’s family, friends, and admirers.”
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