Former Indian captain and country’s senior cricketer Dattajirao Gaikwad bid farewell to this world. He died on Tuesday of an age-related illness. Dattajirao Gaikwad made his debut against England at Leeds in 1952 and his last international match was against Pakistan at Chennai in 1961.
A family source of Dattajirao Gaikwad told news agency ‘PTI’ that he breathed his last on Tuesday morning after battling for life in the ICU (intensive care unit) of a hospital in Baroda for the last 12 days. He played 11 Test matches for India between 1952 and 1961. He also led the national team on the England tour in 1959.
Dattajirao Gaikwad, a right-handed batsman, made his debut against England at Leeds in 1952 and his last international match was against Pakistan at Chennai in 1961. Gaikwad represented Baroda in the Ranji Trophy between 1947 and 1961. He scored 3139 runs at an average of 47.56 including 14 centuries. His highest score was 249 not out against Maharashtra in the 1959-60 season. In 2016, he became India’s oldest Test cricketer. Before him, Deepak Shodhan was India’s oldest Test player. Former batsman Shodhan passed away at the age of 87 in Ahmedabad.
