In today’s weekend blog, I am writing about a cricketer of the late 1950s and 1960s. In those days in India, a pace bowler was a rare commodity, and this bowler started his test career against the mighty West Indies (in the home series) in 1959. In his Test career spanning 9 years, he played 28 Test matches for India and claimed 74 wickets. In his debut Test, he took 4/49 in 49 overs. Imagine bowling 49 overs of fast bowling on the dead and flat pitches in India in those days Friends, he was RAMAKANT DESAI from Bombay (Mumbai).
Here are some interesting facts about him:
1 TINY -If ever there was a man who proved that size and stature could be two very different things, it was Ramakant. Standing at five feet four inches tall, he was capable of bowling at a deceptive pace and getting the ball to rear up unnaturally for a man of small size. He was affectionately called “TINY” because of his height, but he was still by far the fastest bowler India possessed throughout the 1960s.
2 The debut– a preview of things to come when he made his test debut. India made 415, but West Indies replied with 644 for eight, and ended up beating India by an innings. However he had an impressive debut, he bowled 49 overs for his 4 wickets, which included the wickets of Rohan Kanahai, Colin Smith and the great Gary Sobers. His tireless effort on dead track served as a template that he would follow for much of his career.
3 Resolute tailender– though his batting was nothing much to speak of, he had it in him to both play the big hits and defend dourly. His highest Test score came against Pakistan at Brabourne Stadium, Bombay, in 1960. Coming at No.10, he scored 85 in 206 minutes with 7 boundaries and shared a record 9th wicket partnership with wicket keeper Nana Joshi. It is an Indian that stands even now.
4 Phenomenal average– born and bred in Bombay, he played ecactly 150 First class matches taking 468 wickets at an impressive average of 24.1. Of these, he played 53 Ranji matches Bombay and captured 239 wickets @ 15.61. Given that these wickets came on flat Indian wickets, his record is even more impressive.
5 A memorable Ranji Trophy final– with the bat! The crowning glory of his batting career came in the 1962-63 Ranji final against Rajasthan, where he scored his only First class century (107) as Bombay won the title.
6 A great bunny– the concept of ‘bunnies’ in cricket has existed for years. Desai too had one batsman against whom he had an impressive record, the Pakistani legend Hanif Mohd. He dismissed Hanif 4 times in 9 innings in the 1960-61 series. After this tour of India, Hanif was never the same batsman.
7 Heroic final hurrah– he played Test cricket for only 9 years, appearing in final Test against New Zealand in India’s 1968 tour Down Under. New Zealand batted first at Dunedin and made 350. Desai took two wickets. In response India were 300 for 8 when Desai walked out to bat, and were soon 302 for 9. Then Ramakant and No. 11 Bishan Singh Bedi added an invaluable 57 to help India take the lead. This was impressive in itself, but there was more. Desai was struck on the face by bouncer during his innings. His jaw was fractured and there was instant swelling. Braving the pain, he batted on to remain unbeaten on 32. He even bowled 7 overs in second innings, but it was EAS Prasanna who turned the tide with 6 wickets haul and India won what proved to be Desai’s final Test.
8 An early retirement– having played his last Test at 29, Desai retired from all First-Class cricket the following season. The toll of bowling tirelessly on flat tracks had finally made its mark. One can only wonder how lethal he would have been on the responsive pitches with someone to share the pace-bowling workload.
9 Brave Administrator– He had a brief but strenuous two-years stint as BCCI Chairman of Selectors. He was responsible for making Sachin Tendulkar captain, and then making the brave call of removing him from that position. He had to quit his post early due to ill health, and passed away mere months after resigning.
10 A sad end in April 1998– the 58-year old Desai was admitted to hospital following a heart attack. Fur days later, while awaiting surgery, he passed away. It was too early for a man who had put his body on the line for better part of a decade to keep India’s fast-bowling hope.
In the end, he was simply great pace bowler of that era, when India had no pace bowler to talk about.
Waiting for your feedback on this blog.
Anil Malik
Mumbai, India
22nd November 2024