Sudhir Naik (1945-2023) was an Indian cricketer, famous for winning the Ranji Trophy for Mumbai in the 1970s.
Wiki/Biography
Sudhir Sakharam Naik was born on Wednesday, February 21, 1945, in Rashtrapati Bhavan, Bombay, British India (he died aged 78). His zodiac sign is Pisces. He pursued his Masters in Organic Chemistry from Ruparel College, Mumbai. When he was a child, he used to play table tennis with the kids from Chikkalwadi in Tardeo. He also often pestered animals with his friends. When he was in Class 10, his elder brother told him to start taking coaching from Vinoo Mankad. When he was in school, he always studied when he was not playing cricket. During his travels, he always brought books with him and studied whenever he had time. He used to study at 5 a.m. and practice during the day. His first dream was not to become a cricketer but to become the owner of a company. He said in an interview that there was no money in cricket at that time, so he even applied for an engineering degree and got admitted to VJTI (Veemata Jeejabai Technological Institute) in Mumbai before deciding to become a chemist. He gave up the idea of becoming an engineer after former cricketer Madhav Apte told him that he would not have time to play cricket if he chose to become one.
Sudhir Naik as a young man
appearance
Height (approximately): 5′ 9″
Hair color: gray (semi-bald)
Eye color: black
family
Parents and siblings
There is not much information about his parents. He has nine brothers and sisters.
wife and children
Sudhir is married to Vasundhara Pendse Naik, a writer. She died a few years before Sudhir’s death. Their daughter’s name is Radhika Deshpande and she lives in Melbourne.
Profession
domestic cricket
Sudhir played for the Mumbai cricket team. After being admitted to Mumbai University, he became the captain of the team. He was also the captain of the Tata Oil factory team where he worked. He is the only captain to win the Police Shield Championship and Mahindra Shield Championship in two consecutive years with Bombay University in 1967 and 1968. During his graduation, he was selected for the Mumbai youth and senior teams. According to Sudhir, in 1970, only one team was allowed to participate in the knockout rounds. Mumbai defeated Maharashtra before 1970, after which Maharashtra proposed to the BCCI to allow two teams from each group to participate in the knockout stages. The BCCI agreed to the proposal and in 1971 Maharashtra finished first in the Western Zone and Bombay second. In the 1970-71 season, even though players like Sunil Gavaskar and Ajit Wadekar were not in the team, his performance in the game helped Mumbai win the Ranji Trophy. He was not included in the squad for the 1972 Ranji season. In an interview, he spoke about this and said:
I was eliminated in the elimination round. I got good grades, but it’s definitely not fair. This is the politics played by some of our own senior players. They were worried that if Sudhir plays in the knockout rounds, he might get selected in the Indian team and we might get eliminated. That’s dirty politics. But it’s an important part of the game. “
In the 1973-94 Ranji Trophy season, he scored 2687 runs (40.10) against Baroda. The score becomes the highest score 200 points are not scored. In his domestic career, he scored 4376 runs in 85 first-class games, including 700, 27 and 50 runs.
Sudhir Naik in batting action
international cricket
Sudhir made his debut for Leeds United against England on 13 July 1974. He made his debut against England in Birmingham from 4 to 8 July 1974. In 1974, he played three Test matches and two One-Day Internationals for the Indian cricket team. In 1974, he participated in the Indian team’s tour of England and served as the opening batsman. Even though he was the highest scorer in all tour matches, he did not play in the first and second Test matches. In the match he played, he scored 77 runs in the second innings but India did not win the match. He scored the highest score and was named the best player of the match. In 1974, he became part of the Indian team and played the final Test at Edgbaston. In this match, he scored 730 points (40.55). In one-day internationals in England, he scored 18 points from 29 shots, including the team’s first four points.
curator
He was a member of the Bombay Selection Committee in 1984-85 and served as chief selector and member of the management committee. In 2005, he started working as groundsman at the Wankhede Cricket Ground and was responsible for looking after the wickets and outfield before matches. In 2011, ahead of the World Cup at the Wankhede Cricket Stadium in Mumbai, he prepared the venue for the match. He was responsible for the preparation of grounds and pitches in the West Zone in his capacity as the West Zone Head of the BCCI Grounds and Pitch Committee. In 2016, he retired as the curator and groundskeeper of the Wankhede Cricket Stadium after being criticized by Ravi Shastri for the pitch being unsuitable for batsmen. He said in an interview that he could not accept what Shastri told him because he was 70 years old and had some pride.
Sudhir Naik takes charge of pitch to discuss pitch issues
die
On March 24, 2023, Sudhir suffered a head injury due to a fall at his residence in Dadar and was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of Hinduja Hospital in Mumbai. He was unable to recover from his injuries and died on March 5, 2023. After Zaheer Khan passed away, he expressed condolences on his death and said:
The second day he was hospitalized, I went to visit him. He responded to treatment. He recognized me and tried to talk to me. I chatted with him for a while. Knowing the character I’ve seen over the years, I hope he gets through this. but it is not the truth. He became critical on Sunday night and we’re told the next 72 hours will be critical. While we all wish him well, throughout this time I have been thinking back to the countless conversations I had with him after moving to Mumbai. “
Facts/Trivia
- He is a right-handed batsman.
- Apart from cricket, he also worked as an organic chemist.
- After 1974, he stopped playing cricket and started coaching at his own National Cricket Club in Mumbai. Cricketers he has coached include Zaheer Khan, Wasim Jaffer, Rajesh Pawar, Raju Sutar and Paras Mhambrey.
Sudhir Naik and Zaheer Khan
- He played his last Test against the West Indies at Eden Gardens in 1975.
- His students at the club called him James, after James Bond.
- Former India captain Dilip Vengersarkar said in an interview that Sudhir was a straightforward person.
- During a trip to England in the 1970s, he was falsely accused of stealing two pairs of socks from a London department store. He said in an interview that the BCCI did not support him at all because the BCCI was not very strong at the time. He suffered a lot because of this incident. Sunil Gavaskar spoke about the incident in his book Sunny Days and said Naik would not have been humiliated if he had been given a better lawyer to prove his innocence. However, after that happened to him, he scored a half-century in a Test match. Former Mumbai captain Milind Legge spoke about the incident in an interview and said Sudhir had a strong ego and would wear tattered gloves but would never ask for spare gloves from anyone.
- In another interview, Milind Rege recalled his time spent with Sudhir and said that when they used to play together, they would travel to Ranji Trophy matches in taxis with their gear. They used to spend half a day together because they lived close to each other and practiced together. He also said Sudhir was a great captain. In the interview, he further stated,
His tactics are very sound. This is his advantage. He knows his position on the field and he knows the temperament of his players. Sudhir would never blame us on the field. He never told us, “Kya kar raha hai? Barabar se Bowling nahi ho raha hai (What are you doing? You are bowling the wrong way)”… He would put his arms around us and act very calm. In 1970 In the final of the -71 season, we were all youngsters – most were in their early 20s – except Vijay Bhosale and Padmakar Shivalkar. We were just geniuses and he led the team brilliantly. He was a great leader.”
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education