Dattajirao Gaekwad, former India Test captain and the country's oldest-living Test cricketer, passed away at the age of 95 at his residence in Baroda on Tuesday, February 13. Gaekwad, who led India in four of his 11 Test appearances, enjoyed a Test career spanning nine years.As a batsman Gaekwad "possessed a sure defence and delightfully crisp shots especially through the covers". In 1957–58, he captained Baroda to their first Ranji Trophy title in nine years, scoring a century in the final against Services. He scored 218 against the defending champions Bombay during the course of the season. He was recalled to the Indian team for the final Test against West Indies in 1958–59. His 52 in the second innings was the only Test fifty of his career and went some way towards India earning a draw.
India had had four captains in the series against West Indies, and with Hemu Adhikari, the captain in the Fifth Test, being unavailable, Gaekwad was appointed to lead the Indian team on the tour of England in 1959. Between his selection and the beginning of the tour, he contracted typhoid, and was never fully fit during the tour. He still played in 23 of the 33 first-class matches and was one of the team's leading scorers, with 1174 runs at an average of 34.52. He played in four of the five Tests, but scored only 128 runs at an average of 16.00. India lost all five Tests, and Gaekwad appeared in only one more Test. Wisden's summary of the tour said that he appeared not to have "the verve and personality" for the task, and that a "more active approach", especially in field placing, might have been more successful. It added: "There were times when his cover fielding was brilliant, and his innings of 176 against Yorkshire at Sheffield made many wonder why he was not more successful. Gaekwad is the father of the Indian opener Anshuman Gaekwad who was India's coach in the 1990s.
