Ekki tha tiger - A brief account of Eknath Solkar's cricketing career

“I’ll bloody out you” – was Solkar’s challenge to Geoff Boycott. Solkar got onto Boycott’s nerves and induced false shots from the purist. In the 1974-75 tour of England, Boycott was dismissed by Solkar in three consecutive innings. On one occasion Boycott who was dismissed was returning back to the pavilion. Solkar followed Boycott and said, “Go and tell your aunty”. Captain Ajit Wadekar asked Solkar what he meant by that? He replied, ‘because his girlfriend is older than him’.

Solkar was a likeable character and a complete team man. Wadekar said, “Ekki was the perfect team man. He was always ready to bat anywhere in the order and also started bowling seam despite being a spin bowler because we didn’t have opening bowlers.”

Solkar is widely respected in the cricketing fraternity as the best forward short-leg fielder. Solkar’s reflexes coupled with his anticipation were correct on most occasions. The powers of concentration were absolutely unbelievable. The Indian attack was primarily spin-based at the time when Solkar represented India. He hardly dropped any catches – needless to say – he made some of the impossible catches look ridiculously easy. When Solkar was asked for his secret of success, he promptly replied,”I only watch the ball”.

Solkar personified simplicity. He was the son of the head groundsman of PJ Hindu Gymkhana and lived in a small room behind the ground. Solkar spent majority of the childhood at the Gymkhana ground and often changed scorecards there. It was on the maidaans that Solkar learnt the nuances of cricket. Solkar in 1964, led the Schools XI team to Ceylon. Future Test cricketers Mohinder Amarnath and Sunil Gavaskar were a part of that team as well. Solkar was a left-arm spinner and a left-handed batsman who would put a price on his wicket. He truly epitomized the khadoos nature of Mumbai batsmen at that time and even when he donned the national colors.

Solkar was different from his contemporaries with regards to the way he redefined the standards of fielding. In 1969-70 when Australia had toured India, he took a blinder to dismiss Australian skipper and opening batsman, Bill Lawry off Bedi at Calcutta. Lawry was thrilled and gifted Solkar his bat.

According to many cricket pundits the best catch taken by Solkar was in the 1971-72 tour of England. At The Oval India had dismissed half the England side and were desperate to get Allan Knott out quickly. Knott was known for his resolute batting and often wore down the Indians with his intelligent batting. Knott played a defensive shot off Venkatraghvan, the ball probably bounced more than Knott anticipated. Solkar dived full-length and took an amazing catch that turned the Test match in India’s favour. Keith Fletcher was also brilliantly caught. Solkar had figures of 3 for 28 and also scored 44 runs in the first innings. India clinched the Test match and won the series for the first time in England.

Solkar rose to stardom when India toured West Indies in 1971. There were reports about his amazing fielding. He plucked the catches out of nowhere and also played important knocks. But Solkar had the audacity to ask Sir Garfield Sobers to mind his own business. The Indian side was struggling at 75-5 in the first innings of the first Test match. Dilip Sardesai and Solkar put up a fine rearguard action. The partnership was blossoming. Solkar played and missed quite a few times, but continued fighting. The ball lost its shape. Sobers persuaded the officials for the change of ball. The officials agreed. Sobers was standing alongside the officials when the replacement balls were brought onto the field. Sardesai commanded Solkar to join them and neutralize any possible impact the opposition skipper could have on the choice. When the ball was chosen, Solkar demanded to see it. Sobers was not at all impressed. ‘What’s the point? You will play and miss anyway,’ he said. Solkar then replied, ‘You play your game, we will play ours.’

Sunil Gavaskar recalls an instance when India was playing a tour game in 1971. Gavaskar was talking about Solkar on the occasion of inauguration of all-rounder’s academy. Gavaskar said,”Ekki was running backwards for a catch when we heard a spectator from the stand shouting ‘Solkaaarr Solkaaarr (in Caribbean accent), I will give you my sister if you drop this catch’. When Ekki took the catch, we asked him if he had heard something from the stands. He hadn’t. But when we told him about it, he immediately turned towards the spectator and said, ‘you keep your sister as I am already married.”

The Indian cricket team has a tradition to welcome a new cricketer with the suicidal forward-short leg position. Solkar was the beneficiary of this policy when he made his debut against New Zealand at Hyderabad in 1969-70. He continued to field at that position and made it his own. He pouched 53 catches in 27 Test matches, mostly at forward short-leg at a time when there were no protective gears like shin-pad or even helmets.

Ravi Shastri was also present at the inauguration of Solkar’s academy. Shastri talked about how brave Solkar was standing at forward short-leg. When Bombay was facing Saurashtra at Bhuj; the home team was batting on a placid track and Suru Nayak was bowling to Naresh Parsana-Saurashtra tail-ender. Parsana tried to pull the ball but got an under-edge. According to Shastri any other fielder fielding at forward short-leg would have taken an evasive action but Ekki just did not budge and managed to take the catch inches above the ground. Shastri said that it was the best catch he had ever seen from anybody at that position.

Bombay got its new home ground – The Wankhede Stadium, in 1974. India played West Indies on this new ground. West Indies won the toss and batted first. They scored 604 runs courtesy Clive Llyod’s innings of 242 and opener Roy Fredricks’ 104. India lost opener Farooq Engineer for a duck. Solkar came in at No.3. With Gavaskar, he laid a solid foundation with a partnership of 168. Solkar was stranded in the nineties till eternity. Vasant Salgaongar witnessed the match live from the stadium. Salgaonkar says,” Solkar was going nowhere when he reached 90. It was a painstaking effort. Finally he got to his hundred courtesy some generosity from the West Indies fielders”. He lost his place in the national team despite scoring a century.

Solkar lived a very low profile life post-retirement. He lived in Worli and would often come for the evening walks near the promenade. On 26^th June 2005, Solkar died in Mumbai suffering from a heart-attack at the age of 57. The Mumbai Cricketing Association paid tribute to this jovial character by naming a team after him in the Shatkar Trophy, Under-17 selection trial tournament held in Mumbai.

References:1: Eknath Solkar- Cricinfo Player’s Profile2.BCCI official Website (http://www.bcci.tv/bcci/bccitv/index/viewarticle?article=4eb4d3ddb661a-gavaskar-against-the-windies-part-i.html)3.Mid-Day: English Newspaper(http://www.mid-day.com/sports/2011/nov/241111-sports-Talking-about-one-and-only-Ekki-Solkar.htm)4. http://www.guardian.co.uk