Palwankar Baloo was an Indian cricketer in the 19th century. He was the first person from the Dalit community to leave a significant mark in the world of sports. He plays orthodox spin with his left arm and can spin the ball both ways.
Biography/Wiki
Palwankar Baloo was born on March 19, 1876 in Dharwad, Karnataka, India. He overcame caste prejudice in society and became one of the important cricketers in India at that time. He died on July 4, 1955 in Bombay, India. He was 79 years old when he died. He tortured batsmen on batsman-friendly pitches with his left-arm spin. During his career, he played for the Hindus and the Maharaja of Patiala’s All-India team.
Palwankar Baloo and the All-India Team of the Maharaja of Patiala
Apart from cricket, he also contributed to the upliftment of lower castes and untouchables in society. He was also involved in politics and was close to freedom fighters like BR Ambedkar and Mahatma Gandhi.
family
He was born into a family of leather workers. Although his father works in the army. His surname Palwankar comes from his hometown Palwan. He grew up with three brothers Babaji Palwankar Shivram, Palwankar Ganpat and Palwankar Vithal Big, they are all cricketers.
Parwanka Vittal
Vitthal later became the captain of the Indian team. He is married and has one son, YB Palwankar.
religion and caste
He believes in Hinduism and belongs to the Dalit caste. Caste discrimination was very serious in India at that time, so he encountered a lot of difficulties while playing cricket. His skills and performance were often overlooked and he was removed from the team because of his caste. He transcended this and became the face of the movement for the upliftment of lower castes and untouchables.
Profession
His first job was as a groundskeeper at the Parsis Cricket Club in Poona (then Pune). He earns 3 rupees per month. In 1892 he moved to the Pune Club, an European cricket club, where he set up practice nets, rolled and swept the pitches, and occasionally marked the tennis courts.
Palwankar Baloo and his team at Pune Stadium
Mr. Tross, one of the Europeans, encouraged him to play at the net. His slow left-arm delivery impressed many, especially captain JG Greig. It is believed that every time Balu fired Grieg, Grieg gave him eight annas. He bowled many balls in the nets but never got a chance to bat as batting was considered the preserve of the aristocratic class at the time. He was not selected for the Hindu camp due to caste bias, but his impressive performance cannot be ignored. He made his debut for India against Europe on February 8, 1906.
Palwankar Baloo with All India Team
He represented the Indian team in the famous Bombay Gymnastics matches against the European teams in 1906 and 1907. The Indian team defeated the European team by 109 runs and 238 runs respectively. In 1911, he took 114 wickets on the tour of England at an average of 18.84.
In 1911, Palwankar Baloo and team
From the 1905/06 season to the 1920/21 season, he took 179 wickets at an average of 15.21 and also became the first Indian Dalit cricketer.
politics
He was friends with another Dalit, BR Ambedkar, one of the most influential leaders in reversing the caste system. Although Ambedkar always considered Balu a hero to the Dalits, their relationship soured over time over disagreements over ways to abolish the caste system. During the pre-independence period, he entered politics and strongly supported Mahatma Gandhi and his Swaraj movement.
Parwankar Balu
In October 1933, he unsuccessfully ran for a seat in the Bombay Municipal Council on the basis of the Hindu Mahasabha. In 1937, Baloo again contested for the Scheduled Castes seat in the Bombay Legislative Assembly against BR Ambedkar, but he lost by a margin of 13,245 votes to 11,225.
fact
- He played his last first-class match for the Hindus against the Parsis on December 8, 1920.
- In 2018, a biopic about him was announced, produced by Priti Sinha and directed by Tigmanshu Dhulia. In this regard, Tigmanshu said,
I prefer telling stories about unsung heroes. Like Pant Singh, Balu Palwankar is unknown outside the cricketing world. His story is India’s story and what better backdrop than cricket.
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education