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Strong player Anshuman Gaekwad passed away: There have been many great players in the history of the Indian cricket team. But, if we talk about exceptionally courageous players, then Anshuman Gaikwad's name will definitely be included in it. Anshuman Gaikwad died of blood cancer.
Salute to Anshuman for his enthusiasm and passion. He was courageous from within. Which he gave example of many times. And, then who can forget his Test series, in which his teammates were injured, yet his confidence did not waver. It did not take him even 12 hours to blow Pakistan's senses. Veteran Indian opener Anshuman Gaekwad passed away yesterday on 31 July 2024 at the age of 71.
Anshuman Gaekwad lost his battle with blood cancer
Anshuman Gaikwad was suffering from blood cancer. And he also got help from BCCI for his treatment. But, this brave opener of the cricket field could not defeat death. Eventually cancer took its toll. In the 70s and 80s, Anshuman Gaikwad was called the trusted face of Indian cricket. His trust was so strong that later he was also called Sunil Gavaskar's 'right hand'.
Worst match played in West Indies
Anshuman Gaekwad is best known for the Test series, this Test series was played on the soil of West Indies. Which was the ground of Kingston and was played in the year 1976. Earlier, India had won the third Test of the series played in Port of Spain. The West Indies team of the 70s was broken by that defeat. Then in the fourth Test played in Kingston, Clive Lloyd's pace battery welcomed the Indian batsmen with short balls. The Indians did not expect such an attack. Still they faced them bravely. Anshuman Gaekwad and Gavaskar scored 136 runs for the first wicket.
My eardrums were torn by hugging my injured comrades
When the West Indies bowlers realized that only short balls were not working, they started targeting the bodies of the Indian players. As a result, Gundappa Vishwanath suffered serious injuries and was immediately hospitalized. Even after seeing all this happening in front of his eyes, Anshuman Gaikwad was not scared at all and continued to play with enthusiasm. During this time, a ball hit his ear. Due to which his eardrum burst and he had to undergo surgery. Such was the condition of India's first innings in this Test.
During this match, the condition of the Indian team became so bad that three important players of the team, Gundappa Vishwanath, Anshuman Gaekwad and Brijesh Patel could not come out to bat in the second innings. The then Indian captain Bishan Singh Bedi declared the innings and India lost the match. However, Anshuman Gaekwad's courageous innings of 81 runs in the first innings of the Test is still discussed today.
Batted for 671 minutes and scored 201 runs against Pakistan
In 1983, Anshuman Gaekwad scored 201 runs in a marathon innings in the Jalandhar Test against Pakistan. In this match, he batted for 671 minutes in the first innings. That is, he was batting continuously for more than 11 hours. It was the effect of his innings that even after scoring 337 runs in the first innings, Pakistan had to play for a draw. Along with this, Anshuman Gaekwad's double century was the slowest in first class cricket at that time.
Anshuman Gaekwad was also the head coach of the Indian team twice from 1997 to 2000. Under his coaching, India was also the runner-up in the 2000 Champions Trophy. While being the coach, Anil Kumble also made the record of becoming the first Indian bowler to take 10 wickets in a Test innings at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi. Gaekwad also served as a national selector and President of the Indian Cricketers Association in the 1990s. It is worth noting that in June 2018, the BCCI honored him with the Lifetime Achievement Award.
In a career spanning 12 years, Gaikwad played 40 Test matches in which he scored 1985 runs at an average of 30. During this, he scored 2 centuries and 10 half-centuries. He scored 289 runs in 15 ODIs. The highest score was 201 runs which he made against Pakistan in Jalandhar in 1983.