Cerebral Star

Ajit Wadekar had an astute cricketing brain and the personality of a superstar

- Yajurvindra Singh

THE PASSING AWAY of Ajit Wadekar came as a surprise, as one looked at him as an icon who would live forever. I met him just before leaving for England to watch the ongoing Test series, and his words still linger in my mind. “Sunny, make sure that the team comes back winning the way we did in 1971,” he said. We were in the foyer of Sportsfield at Worli sea face in Mumbai, a building which he promoted for sportsmen. Living in the building led us to a friendship that I was truly blessed to have for the past 30 years.

A state farewell funeral with thousands following the truck carrying his casket took me back to the grand welcome that the victorious 1971 side had received on their return. A red carpet was laid out at the airport. The team was taken in an open-top motorcade. Ajit in a silver Impala leading the pack, with garlands of marigold around his neck and waving to the crowd, was an image that one can conjure as one of the most significant moments in the annals of Indian cricket.

Ajit had a personality, and a halo around him, of a superstar. His slow body-tilting to the left gait added to his awe-inspiring demeanour. He spoke softly but thoughtfully, and had mastered this uncanny art of delivering a funny one-line rejoinder that, if you were not alert, would elude you completely.

My first recollection of Ajit was way back in 1962. I was ten years old when Bombay played Saurashtra in a Ranji Trophy match at my school ground, Rajkumar College in Rajkot. Ajit rescued Bombay by scoring 151 runs, batting down the order. My prized possession then was an autograph from him. He was a hero to all of us who played the game of cricket in the 70s.

He lived and breathed cricket. He led India to three consecutive series wins—two overseas and one at home. India under his captaincy became the unofficial champion Test side in the world, as they beat the mighty West Indies, and then England in England and at home.