Ajit Wadekar

A successful batsman, India's first superstar captain and later a highly respected coach, a selector and the team manager, Ajit Wadekar is in one rare club of players who've donned most hats when it comes to Indian cricket and the administration around it.

One of the best Indian left-handers to have ever played the game, Wadekar was an accidental product in cricket. Studying to pursue a career in engineering, he impressed his college's coach as the twelfth man with his skills, leading to a promotion to the bigger league. After his debut for Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy in 1958-59, he notched up a string of impressive performances. But it took him eight long years of toil in the domestic circuit to finally be picked up for the national side.

Once an India cap followed, it didn't take him long to establish himself as one of the most dependable players, anchoring the innings at number three and also as one of the safest slip catchers of that era. But the biggest feather in his hat, and what he's most likely to be remembered for, is his leadership in 1971 that took India to their first ever series wins in the West Indies and in England.

The then selector, Vijay Merchant saw potential in Wadekar's abilities and picked him to replaced MAK Pataudi as India's captain. His strategies to rotate the spin-quartet, the decision to impose the follow-on against the mighty Windies that deflated them mentally for their next game were such key moments where Wadekar's captaincy stood out. He capped this up with another victory against England, this time at home in 1972-73. All this was despite his personal form slumping since he took over as skipper, but the victories were good enough to camouflage.

The honeymoon period, however, came down crashing rather prematurely in the 'English Summer of 42' in 1974, where India's thrashing involved them getting all-out for 42 in an innings at Lord's, after having arrived in England as arguably the best side in world cricket.

In what was a trend in Indian cricket, the skipper was made the scapegoat for the defeat and Wadekar was axed from the side. He immediately announced his retirement from international cricket.

He returned to the cricketing fold in the early 1990s as the manager-cum-coach of the Indian side and forged a solid partnership with Mohammad Azharuddin, during a successful phase for Indian cricket. In 2007, he was one of the many cricketers who joined the rebel Indian Cricket League (as a match referee), but soon returned back to the BCCI fold in 2009. In 2011, he was awarded the 'Lifetime Achievement Award' at the annual BCCI ceremony.

Despite his telling achievements, a tag that stuck with him was that of a 'lucky skipper', primarily because it was believed that he rode on the success of the platform laid by his predecessor, MAK Pataudi. Nevertheless, many of his contemporaries have always praised his shrewd thinking and his tactical genius.

He passed away in August 2018, with a rich legacy behind him in Indian and Mumbai cricket.

Written by - Vineet Anantharaman