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Dattajirao Gaekwad, India’s Oldest Test Cricketer, Passes Away; BCCI Pays Heartfelt Tribute
Dattajirao Gaekwad, India’s Oldest Test Cricketer, Passes Away; BCCI Pays Heartfelt Tribute
The oldest player to play Test cricket in India, Dattajirao Gaekwad was a former captain who passed away on Tuesday due to age-related diseases. At 95 years old, Gaekwad was the father of national coach Aunshuman Gaekwad and a former opener for India. A family source said that he battled for his life in the critical care unit of a Baroda hospital for the last twelve days before passing away early this morning.
The loss of Dattajirao Gaekwad, the oldest player in Indian Test cricket history and a former captain, is severely felt by the BCCI. In eleven Test matches, he captained the team during India’s 1959 Tour of England.When Baroda was captain in 1957–58, they won the Ranji Trophy by defeating Services in the championship match. “The Board offers its sincere condolences to Gaekwad’s family, friends, and supporters,” the BCCI penned in a farewell message on X, the former name for Twitter.
The BCCI expresses its profound grief at the passing away of Dattajirao Gaekwad, former India captain and India’s oldest Test cricketer. He played in 11 Tests and led the team during India’s Tour of England in 1959. Under his captaincy, Baroda also won the Ranji Trophy in the… pic.twitter.com/HSUArGrjDF
— BCCI (@BCCI) February 13, 2024
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He played 11 Test matches for India between 1952 and 1961, captaining the side on its 1959 trip of England. After making his debut against England in Leeds in 1952, the right-hander played his final international encounter against Pakistan in Chennai in 1961. Between 1947 and 1961, Gaekwad participated in Ranji Trophy matches for Baroda. At an average of 47.56, he scored 3139 runs, 14 hundred among them.
His best was a 249 not out against Maharashtra in the 1959–60 season. Former hitter Deepak Shodhan became the oldest active Test cricket player in India when he passed away in Ahmedabad in 2016 at the age of 87.
