Bapu Nadkarni passes away at the age of 86

Former India all-rounder Bapu Nadkarni passed away on Friday and breathed his last at his daughter’s residence. He represented India in 41 Tests between 1955 and 1968 while he played for Mumbai and Maharashtra in domestic cricket.

Nadkarni was a slow left-arm bowler and also used to come in handy with the bat. He picked up 81 wickets in 41 Tests including the best of 6/63 against New Zealand at Wellington in 1968. With the bat, he averaged 25.70 and scored seven half-centuries and one century—122 not out against England at Kanpur in February 1964—and scored 1,414 runs in 67 innings.

The all-rounder, who died at the age of 86 was a dominant player in first-class cricket as well. He played 191 matches and scored 8880 runs including 46 fifties and 14 hundred. With the ball, Nadkarni picked up exactly 500 wickets at an economy rate of 1.64.

Nadkarni made his Test debut when Vinoo Mankad rested himself for the New Delhi Test against New Zealand and he managed to take the spotlight straight away. He scored an unbeaten 68 on debut. However, he had to wait for three more years to play his next Test—against West Indies in Mumbai in November 1958.

His best performance with the bat came in the drawn Test against England during the 1963-64 tour at Kanpur, wherein Nadkarni scored a fighting 52 at No 9 as India replied with 266 to the visitors’ 559 for eight declared. Nadkarni batted at number 3 and scored his career-best 122 not out hitting 15 fours to help the hosts force a draw.

In the very next match, the all-rounder picked his best bowling performance in a match taking five for 31 and six for 91. But India’s batting failure in the second innings resulted in a 139-run loss at Chennai in October 1964.

And with a first-class average of more than 40, and an innings of 283 not out for Bombay v Delhi to his credit, he would have been an automatic pick if one-day cricket had been around in his time.

BCCI mourns the sad demise of Bapu Nadkarni.

The 86-year-old breathed his last at his daughter’s residence in Mumbai on Friday. https://t.co/IKx9mpOTnB pic.twitter.com/ghxNAZKVpB

— BCCI (@BCCI) January 17, 2020