Padmakar Shivalkar, former champion left-arm spinner and Mumbai great dies aged 84 in Mumbai after prolonged illness.
Padmakar Shivalkar, the champion left-arm spinner who is counted among the greatest Indian cricketers to never play for India, has died at the age of 84.
Due of their unfortunate careers that overlapped with Bishan Singh Bedi’s, Shivalkar is frequently compared to Haryana left-arm spinner Rajinder Goel, who holds the record for most wickets taken in Ranji Trophy history.
“One of the regrets I have is that, as the then captain of the Indian team, I could not convince my fellow selectors to pick Goel saab and Paddy to play for India,” Sunil Gavaskar told The Hindu when the BCCI awarded Goel and Shivalkar the CK Nayudu Lifetime Achievement award in 2017. “They were born in the same era as the greatest left-arm bowler I have seen, Mr Bishan Singh Bedi. Else they too would have played plenty of Tests for India.”
When Bombay (now Mumbai), the most successful team in the Ranji Trophy, was at the height of their power, Gavaskar and Shivalkar shared a dressing room. Shivalkar was a member of the team that won the Ranji Trophy again in 1980–81 and played in ten of Bombay’s winning campaigns from 1965–66 to 1976–77, when they won the trophy in all but one of those seasons. He miraculously returned seven years later, playing two games in the 1987–88 season at the age of 47.
At an average of 19.69, Shivalkar claimed 589 wickets overall in 124 first-class games. In the Ranji Trophy, 361 of those wickets were taken. In the competition, no bowler from Mumbai has taken more wickets. The 1972-73 final versus Tamil Nadu, which Bombay won in two days and one ball thanks to a ferocious Chepauk turner, included Shivalkar’s best statistics of 8 for 16.
Former India medium pacer and current BCCI president Roger Binny said in a statement, “Indian cricket has lost a true legend today. Padmakar Shivalkar’s mastery over left-arm spin and his deep understanding of the game made him a revered figure in domestic cricket. His exceptional career and selfless contribution to Mumbai and Indian cricket will always be remembered. My heartfelt condolences go out to his family and loved ones during this difficult time.”