Dattajirao Gaekwad (1928-2024), also known as Datta Gaekwad, was an Indian cricketer who played 11 Test matches for India between 1952 and 1961. He captained the Indian cricket team during their 1959 tour of England. He was one of the highest-performing players in first-class cricket at Baroda during his 17-year domestic career from 1947 to 1964. He is famous for winning the Ranji Trophy for Baroda in 1957, his first year as captain. 58. He died in Vadodara on February 13, 2024 due to age-related illnesses.
Wiki/Biography
Dattajirao Krishnarao Gaekwad was born in Vadodara, British India (now Vadodara, Gujarat, India) on Saturday, October 27, 1928. He died at the age of 95. His zodiac sign is Scorpio. He was distantly related to the royal family of Baroda. His father was one of the brothers of Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad III and served in the Vadodara state army. After Sayajirao’s death in 1939, his grandson Pratap Singh Rao Gaekwad became the Maharaja. At the age of 11, Dattajirao Gaekwad was invited to stay at the Laxmi Vilas Palace in Vadodara and became the royal family of Prince Fateh Singh Rao Gaekwad. companion. This prince was two years younger than Dattajirao. He lived in the palace until his marriage in 1951. Pratap Singh Rao had the vision to transform the palace’s Moti Bagh into a cricket ground. Soon, it developed into a hub of cricket where Dattajirao developed his passion for cricket. There, he met famous cricketer CS Nayudu and started training under him at the age of 12. In an interview, Gaekwad recalled Nayudu’s training and said:
In 1948, CS Nayudu, brother of former India captain CK Nayudu, came to Baroda in search of a job; the Maharaja of Baroda called him. CS Nayudu was my coach when I was about 12 years old. He initiated Under-14 and Under-16 tournaments in Vadodara. He was a famous leg-spin bowler and I learned a lot from him. I started bowling leg-spin and imitated his style. “
He attended Maharani Chimnabai High School in Vadodara. He switched from school cricket to inter-collegiate cricket, playing for Mumbai University for two years. When Maharaja Sayajirao University formed a cricket team, Gaekwad became the first captain.
Old photos of Dattajirao Gaekwad
appearance
Height (approximately): 5′10″
Hair color: gray
Eye color: black
family and race
Dattajirao Gaekwad was born into a Maratha family.
Parents and siblings
His father’s name is Krishnarao Gaekwad.
wife and children
In 1951, Dattajirao Gaekwad married Ushadevi. They have three daughters, Geeta, Sunetra and Nandini, and a son, Anshuman Gaikwad. Anshuman is also a former cricketer who played 40 Tests from the 1970s to the 1980s.
Dattajirao Gaekwad with his son and wife
Dattajirao Gaekwad and his son Anshum Gaekwad
Others
His grandson Shatrunjay Gaekwad is also a cricketer and represents Baroda in the Ranji Trophy.
Dattajirao Gaekwad and his grandson Shatrunjay Gaekwad
Signature/Autograph
Postal envelope autographed by Vadodara Cricket Association in memory of Dattajirao Gaekwad
Profession
In the 1960s, Gaekwad served as joint secretary of the Baroda Cricket Association (BCA).
as a cricketer
Domestic
Dattajirao Gaekwad made his debut in the 1946-47 season. His performance in inter-school competitions led to his selection for the Baroda Ranji team in the 1947-48 season. Dattaji’s first century came in the 1949-50 season when he scored 108 runs against Bombay FC at the Baroda Stadium. Gaekwad played for Baroda in the Ranji Trophy till 1961, scoring 3139 runs, including 14 centuries. At that time, Baroda had several players in the Indian team such as Vijay Hazare, Gul Mohammad, Chandu Bobde, Sadhu Shinde and Aamir Elahi among others. As captain, he led Baroda to their first Ranji Trophy win in nine years in 1957-58 and scored a century in the final against Services at Moti Bagh Stadium in Baroda. Meanwhile, Vijay Hazare scored 203 runs in the match.
Vadodara Cricket Association engraves Dattajirao Gaekwad’s photo with Ranji Trophy on glass frame to mark his 92nd birthday
During the season, Gaikwad scored 218 points against defending champion Mumbai. His highest score was 249 against Maharashtra in 1959-60. Unfortunately, he failed to translate his success in domestic cricket into Test matches.
international
In 1952, he was selected in the Indian team for the tour of England. He made his debut against England on 5 June 1952 at Headingley, Leeds. Despite having no previous experience as an opening batsman, he opened for India during the tour. He was one of four players dismissed without scoring a single in the second innings of the Test. He got a chance to play for India in his last Test against the West Indies in 1958-59. He scored 52 in the second innings, the only Test fifty in his career, to lead India to a draw. In 1959, Gaikwad was appointed captain of the Indian team for the tour of England.
Polly Umrigar, Datta Gaikwad, Denis Compton and Vijay Manjrekar at the British Athletes Luncheon at the Savoy Hotel, London, 21 April 1959
He played in 23 of 33 first-class matches. He was one of the team’s leading scorers, scoring 1174 runs (34.52) in the tour, but struggled in Tests. India failed in all five Tests. Gaekwad played 4 of the 5 Tests but scored only 128 runs at an average of 16.00. His last international match was against Pakistan in 1961 in Chennai.
Old photos of Dattajirao Krishnarao Gaekwad
as a coach
BCCI appointed him as coach of Baroda. Until 2000, he coached boys of all age groups in Vadodara. In 1977-78, Gaekwad coached Ajit Lele, son of late BCCI and BCA secretary JY Lele. At that time, Ajit Lele was playing Under-19 cricket.
die
Dattajirao Gaekwad passed away due to age-related ailments on February 13, 2024, in Vadodara after battling for life for 12 days.
Facts/Trivia
- He is a right-handed batsman and a right-arm leg-spin bowler.
- Despite Dattaji’s extraordinary achievements in domestic cricket, he was often eclipsed by Vijay Hazare, considered the finest Indian batsman of the 1950s hand. Whenever Dattaji hit a century in the Ranji final, Hazare surpassed him by two centuries. Dattaji was a nightmare for the Mumbai team in the 1950s. He once hit a double hundred, but what is more remembered by the older generation is Hazare’s 126.
- In 2016, he became India’s oldest living Test cricketer after former batsman Deepak Shodhan passed away in Ahmedabad at the age of 87.
- He is fondly called DK Sir in the cricketing world.
- It is believed that he was promoted to captain due to nepotism during India’s tour of England in 1959. Apparently, Dattajirao is close to former Baroda Maharaja Fatehsingh Gaekwad, who is also the head coach of the national team. Fateh Singh Gaekwad has been Dattajirao’s patron since he was 11 years old.
- In 1959, after he was selected to captain India against England, he contracted typhoid fever. Although he never fully recovered during the tour, he played in 23 of the 33 first-class matches and was one of the team’s leading scorers, scoring 1174 runs at an average of 34.52.
- Dattajirao has close ties with the Vadodara royal family and served as the Deputy Auditor General of Vadodara state.
- In 2020, the postal service issued a “special cover” in Gaekwad’s honor on his 92nd birthday. The title of the publication is “Dedicated to Shri DK Gaekwad” with a picture of Gaekwad in the middle surrounded by pictures of other prominent figures from the Baroda cricket world. It also carried pictures of three office bearers: Fatehsingrao Gaekwad, Chirayu Amin and Jaywant Lele, who have been with BCCI for over five years.
Postal cover issued by the postal department in 2020 to commemorate the 92nd birthday of Dattajirao Gaekwad
- In 2024, Irfan Pathan paid tribute to Gaekwad through a heartfelt tweet in which he said that Gaekwad used to sit in a blue Maruti car at the Motibag cricket ground and tirelessly scout out young talents for the Baroda cricket team.
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education