Polly Umrigar, who died here today
aged 80, strode the Indian cricket field like a colossus at a
time when the self-belief of the team was not even half as
high as it is at present.
The many intrigues and in-fightings that were part of
Indian cricket in those days resulted him in captaining the
country in only eight tests when he, with his shrewd cricket
sense, deserved to lead in many more matches.
A strongly built man with palms like buckets, the
right-handed Umrigar was essentially a front-footed batsman
who had all the strokes in the book.
Making his debut against the all-powerful West Indian
side led by Trevor Goddard in 1948, Umrigar created a few
national records which were etched in gold till they were
erased by the likes of Sunil Gavaskar much later.
Umrigar, born on March 28, 1926, was the first Indian
batsman to score over 3,000 runs in Tests and the first to
cross the double figures in the number of Test tons.
In all, he scored 3631 runs in 59 tests, the then Indian
record in times where test matches were few and far in
between, and made 12 centuries and 14 fifties, averaging just
over 42 per innings.
Nicknamed the `Palm-Tree Hitter` by the West Indian
crowds, Umrigar and his close friend Gulabrai Ramchand - who
passed away before him - qualified for the term all rounder
quite well in the 1950s.
Umrigar, who used to bowl off spin with which he grabbed
33 wickets, and was a safe catcher in the slips too and
pouched 35 of these in his career.
The man with the booming voice toured England (1952 and
1959) and the West Indies twice (1952-53 and 1962) and
Pakistan once on the country`s first-ever visit in 1954-55.
Umrigar also led India in eight official tests and was
one of four captains in the bizarre happenings during the
five-match series against the West Indies at home in 1958-59.
He was the mainstay of a middle order which was prone to
frequent collapses against the fast bowlers in the days when
there were no protective equipment to talk of barring leg and
pads, batting gloves and abdomen guards.
Umrigar, who also represented India in 17 unofficial
Tests between 1949 and 1956 amassing 1263 runs at just over 52
per innings, turned his attention to cricket administration
and pitch preparations after his playing days were over.
He was part of the Mumbai Cricket Association`s
Administration, was its secretary too, before becoming manager
of Indian teams - notably to the West Indies in 1976 and
Australia in 1978 where his calm demeanour and playing
experience stood the team in good stead.
He later became a pitch curator, often preparing wickets
for Tests and domestic first class matches at the Wankhede
stadium, national selection committee chairman before becoming
the Indian cricket board`s executive secretary in the
mid-1980s.
For his services in various capacities to the game, he
was conferred with the C K Nayudu award by the BCCI in 1998.
Bureau Report
