Ajit Wadekar: The Man who won the game and hearts

Within a span of 24 hours, India has lost two eminent leaders who at different points in time held supposedly the two most difficult posts in the country - that of a Cricket Captain and The Prime Minister. The first to call it a day on earth was former Indian captain Ajit Wadekar and soon to follow him was former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

While I have distinct memories of Atalji (as he was called) as when he became the Prime Minister I was entering my teenage days and I was fond of his poetry. His contribution is unmatched in the history of Indian politics and given my love for the game of cricket, I remember his famous lines when India toured Pakistan in 2004; “Khel hi nahin, dil bhi jitiye” (Not only the game, win hearts as well).

Former Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee...

On the other hand, Ajit Wadekar came pretty late in my life. When he played his last test match in 1974, I was 11 years short of getting born. The first time I came across the name Ajit Wadekar was while reading Sunil Gavaskar’s Sunny Days in the 1990s.

Narrating his first real meeting with Ajit Wadekar which happened in the Inter-University Tournament, Gavaskar writes in the book, “It was here that I really got to know Ajit Wadekar. I had met him earlier, but it was as Madhav Mantri’s nephew.” After completing his century, Wadekar had broken his bat and Gavaskar who was the twelfth man carried his own bat alongside Wadekar’s for replacement.

Ajit Wadekar

“Maybe, but those three shots were the best of the innings”

As luck would have it, Wadekar chose Gavaskar’s bat and hit the next three balls for boundaries before getting out on the fourth. After coming back to the dressing room, Wadekar thanked Gavaskar for the bat, to which the Little Master replied, “It brought you luck”. Wadekar responded by saying, “Maybe, but those three shots were the best of the innings”.

After this introduction to Wadekar, I came to know that it was under his captaincy that India had won its maiden test series in the West Indies and England in 1971. I had seen photographs of that series in some of the cricket books. Since then, I have read innumerable articles on the importance of those victories for Indian cricket.

But I guess I truly realised the impact of those series wins only after I saw the video of the reception that the Indian team had received on arrival in Delhi and Bombay (now Mumbai). I recommend every cricket lover to watch this video and feel proud of the class of 1971.

“So far as I am concerned Ajit, a great dream has come true”

There were thousands at the Palam airport in Delhi, occupying all the available spots to welcome the team led by Wadekar. Similar scenes were seen at Bombay (Mumbai) as the team made its way in the motorcade from the airport to the Brabourne Stadium. Summing up the achievement, Vijay Merchant had aptly said, “So far as I am concerned Ajit, a great dream has come true and may God bless you and the Indian cricketers of 1971. You and 19 other cricketers including those of the West Indies for making the dream possible.”

Indeed it was a dream come true for all the cricket lovers of India and Wadekar was the man at the helm of affairs. For those who consider him only a lucky captain, Gavaskar had the perfect reply, “He did not get the recognition his captaincy deserved. He was often referred to as a ‘lucky’ captain. What is a lucky captain? For setting batting order, bowling changes, field placements, you have to have cricket’s tactical acumen. His leadership qualities were exemplary. Ajit would get his views and then take a decision. He would take the responsibility.”

Wadekar’s batting records may not seem great, but his contribution to Indian cricket is beyond any doubts. And as he starts his innings in the heavens, I will quote a few lines from Atalji’s poem ‘Yaksh Prashn”

“Jo Kal the, woh aaj nahin,

Jo aaj hain, Ve kal nahin honge,

Hone na hone ka kram, isi tarah chalta rahega,

Hum hain, Hum rahenge, yah brahm bhi sada palta rahega”