Wadekar wants BCCI to celebrate 40th annivarsary of 1971 Test triumph

(EXCLUSIVE)

By Qaiser Mohammad Ali

New Delhi: In the euphoria that engulfed the country after the memorable World Cup triumph and the start of the Indian Premier League (IPL) soon after that in April, millions of Indian cricket fans forgot about the 40^th anniversary of the national team’s momentous first Test series win abroad.

Others could miss April 19, 1971 -- the day India sealed a 1-0 series win over the formidable West Indies in the Caribbean -- but not Ajit Wadekar, captain of the team that included Sunil Gavaskar, Dilip Sardesai, Srinivas Vekataraghavan, and Bishan Singh Bedi among other stalwarts.

With the 40^th anniversary approaching, Wadekar wrote to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to organise a felicitation function with two purposes in mind. Apart from seeking recognition for his team, his other idea was that youngsters in the Indian team should know about their illustrious seniors who walked the same path years ago.

“Basically, the idea was for recognition and nothing else... no one is asking for donation or financial help etc. It was for felicitation of the team, so that people know at least about that historic series,” Wadekar, 70, told Mail Today.

“Today’s youngsters don’t seem to have time because they are playing so much of cricket. Most of those, who are playing for India now, were not even born then. So, if the 1971 team is felicitated they would have an idea about that team and the series. It just occurred to me... But I never got any response from them (BCCI),” the left-handed batsman said.

Just for the comparison, sports ministers MS Gill and Ajay Maken felicitated the football teams of the 1956 Olympics and 1960 Olympics respectively.

Wadekar had written to the board president Shashank Manohar soon after the World Cup win on April 2 in Mumbai.

But the BCCI, which on Tuesday organised a function in Mumbai to felicitate Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s world champions, has still not replied to Wadekar. When contacted on Thursday, the top board officials’ response was lukewarm.

“I haven’t thought about it. I will have to talk to my colleagues. Maybe, we will discuss this at a working committee meeting,” Manohar told Mail Today.

BCCI secretary N Srinivasan said he had no idea about the proposal. “I haven’t seen the letter. I will have to check up,” he said.

Wadekar said he will not write to the board again. “I don’t think I will be writing to him (Manohar) again to remind him,” he said.

The man who played 37 Tests, however, pointed out the three successive Test series triumphs under his leadership. Soon after the win in the five-Test series in the West Indies, India registered a historic series victory over in England in 1971 and then a 2-1 verdict in a five-Test series against England in India in 1972-73.

The success in the West Indies, which had the likes of captain Gary Sobers, Clive Lloyd, Rohan Kanhai and David Holford, simply stood out. For India, the main performers were Gavaksar (774 at 154.80), who was playing his maiden series, late Sardesai (642 at 80.25), Vekataraghavan (41 wickets) and Bedi (33 wickets).

Similarly, the 1-0 win in the three-Test series against Ray Illingworth’s English side was no less creditable, points out Wadekar.

“I think that was a momentous chapter in the Indian cricket history. At that time there were no ratings, but England was considered the number one team. They were really the champions. On their own soil they were supposed to be difficult to beat,” he emphasised.

The architects of India’s win were late Eknath Solkar (210 runs), Wadekar (204), Venkataraghavan (13 wickets), BS Chandrasekhar (13) and Bedi (11).

Wadekar says the win was the greatest source of happiness for him. “Of course, it was the biggest thrill that I got in my career. That was the best moment of my life. My players also feel the same,” he said.

(This story was first published in Mail Today newspaper on June 3, 2011)