Datta Gaekwad
- "Datta Gaekwad was an attractive batsman with a preference towards the off-side, defying his five-and-a-half-feet frame to reach the pitch of the ball and driving elegantly." This very description of him brings memories of a well known contemporary English cricketer who has a penchant for flashy, attractive 20s and 30s with beautiful cover drives and fluent strokeplay.
- Gaekwad was a fine fielder for his days and even a courageous one at times. Versatility was his strength and he was particularly good in the cover region.
- But what of his main skill, batting? Well, he averaged 18.42 after eleven tests. He was no one cap wonder, his record was a product of sustained failure versus three countries in three different conditions. His first-class record was mediocre at best too, in an era where Indian batsmen averaged close to 40 and plus and still underachieved on the international stage, he had a first-class average of just 36.40.
- Gaekwad was a distant relative of the royal family of Baroda and them being cricket patrons meant that all of their princes and relatives got their fair share of cricket coaching which is how he got into cricket.
- His first brush with controversy came when he had his university graduation exams coming up. He opted out of a crucial game versus Holkar but Baroda wanted him to play. Gaekwad refused and turned up on match day in plain clothes as a sign of protest. The management had to fetch his clothes and for all the hassle, Gaekwad managed only a duck in the first innings batting at three. Thankfully for him, Vijay Hazare's heroics ensured that he did not have to bat in the second innings.
- Gaekwad was selected for the 1952 tour of England on the back of some decent Ranji performances, but was completely overawed by his selection and resorted to bouts of narcissism having confessed to about not being able to resist putting on the cap and the blazer and looking at himself in the mirror. The team was expected to do well after winning in Madras previously but two key players in Merchant and Mankad were not available while the captain was Hazare, not the best man for the job. The team was completely destroyed by a young, quick debutante from England named Fred Trueman while our protagonist played only the first test in the unfamiliar position of opener. He returned scores of 9 and 0. Gaekwad finished the tour with 852 runs at 27.48 with 8 fifties.
- Gaekwad's next pair of matches came versus Pakistan at home, famous for Pakistan's first test victory (and also Kishenchand's last test). Scores? 6, 32, 20, 21*. Somehow, he still made his way into the team for the West Indies tour. There, he helped India draw a game but scored a duck and injured himself in the next game and didn't play for India again in the next six years.
- Very strong performances for Baroda and leading them to an impressive Ranji Trophy victory alongside finishing second on the runs chart helped him win back selection to the Indian side. He was also named Indian Cricketer of the Year.
- Gaekwad couldn't have picked a worse time to return. Hall and Gilchrist were a tad quicker than Trueman and terrorised the Indian batting lineup in previous games. So disastrous was the series that India were led by four different captains in five tests, not counting Ramchand who was the temporary captain after Mankad went off the field for food poisoning in the fourth game and very nearly got to lead in the fifth if not for his contingent leaving the hotel early due to the fear of getting stuck in traffic. Gaekwad made his highest score of 52 under these circumstances to draw the test.
- To the shock of everyone, neither Ramchand, Mankad or Adhikari (captain for the fifth test) were selected and the selectors appointed Gaekwad himself, a veteran of six tests at that time as the captain. Gaekwad had a decent outing in the first test, defending bravely with his body and put himself into risky fielding positions to save runs. However, he suffered from bronchitis and missed the second test (leading to India's sixth captain in seven tests). Gaekwad's return did not improve India's fortunes and desperate measures were taken, like sending out a desperate plea to Baig, a classy Indian batsman at Oxford University for the Old Trafford Test who promptly scored a century (also ended up with the highest batting average for India) but none worked as they were thoroughly whitewashed 5-0 with multiple players sustaining injuries.
- The team was widely criticized by Wisden Cricketers' Almanack for 1960, which said that the record of the team was even worse than that of the New Zealand cricket team in 1958, which is widely regarded as the worst international cricket team in history. It suggested that the problem was deep-seated, in that the side appeared only rarely to play as a team, though talented individuals made occasional contributions. Gaekwad himself received serious criticism for being unable to use Gupte effectively who was regarded as the best leg-spinner in the world at that time. He was regarded as tactically naive. Wisden, summarised his tour thus: “The Baroda player never suggested that he had the verve and personality to carry this exacting task, and he appeared a sick man midway through the tour. He did well to miss only one Test match … A more active approach to all he did, especially his field placing, would have been welcome.”
- Gaekwad played only one more test versus Pakistan in 1961, scoring 9. With the ball, he bowled just two overs in his entire test career which went for twelve runs and no wickets. He picked up just 25 wickets in his first-class career, at an expensive rate of 3.2 runs per over.
For all of his demerits, McAlister worked best when he was the cunning schemer behind the scenes rather than the man in the spotlight outright. With Gaekwad as the unfortunate, inexperienced and naive captain of my side, McAlister is bound to cause various troubles in the most effective manner as his deputy. Gaekwad will be the second opener in my side.
- J. Duminy
- D. Gaekwad
- ?
- P. McAlister
- J. Ikin
- J. Mubarak
- J. Edwards
- G. Kishenchand
- M. Sami
- L. Tsotsobe
- R. Wijesuriya
Only now realised that the next pick is also mine.
This shouldn't take too long...
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