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Education: Graduate
Wife: Manali Vengsarkar
Hometown: Rajapur, Maharashtra
Some Lesser Known Facts About Dilip Vengsarkar
- Dilip Vengsarkar was one of many key batters of the Indian Cricket crew in the course of the Seventies and early 80s alongside Gundappa Vishwanath and Sunil Gavaskar. He is thought for his upright stance and his capability to play elegant drives.
- He made his mark in cricket when he scored 110 runs for Bombay in opposition to the Rest Of India (ROI) aspect in the course of the Irani Trophy match on the Vidarbha Cricket Association (VCA) in Nagpur (Maharashtra). ROI was star-studded with the bowlers like Bishan Singh Bedi and Erapalli Prasanna. These bowlers had been of their prime type throughout that stage. Dilip changed the injured Eknath Solkar who received injured on the final second earlier than the match. Initially, it was determined to play him as a gap batter however the experiment didn’t flip properly as he may solely rating with a median of 13.75.
- Soon, he made his worldwide debut in 1975 the place he performed the position of the opening batter alongside his captain Sunil Gavaskar. Though, he couldn’t have a lot success at the moment. But it was in 1977-78 when he established himself as a everlasting member of the squad for the following fifteen years. He remained the quantity three batter for a few years and performed the position of the anchor within the Indian batting line-up for over a decade.
- In 1978-79, he held a partnership of 300 runs with Sunil Gavaskar at Eden Gardens (Kolkata) in opposition to the West Indies. Both the batsmen ended their innings with a century. During the late Seventies and 80s, he was among the many finest batsmen within the nation.
- One of his most memorable innings got here in opposition to the Pakistan crew in 1979 at Feroz Shah Kotla (now Arun Jaitley Stadium) in Delhi. The Pakistan crew was led by Asif Iqbal. India required 390 runs on the ultimate day of that take a look at match. The crew misplaced the important thing wickets of Yashpal Sharma, Kapil Dev, and Roger Binny But Dilip remained unbeaten on 146 runs and took the rating near 364 runs. Actually, Dilip was working out of companions so he determined to play defensively and forestall his aspect from a defeat by shedding six wickets.
- In 1981, Dilip received married to his girlfriend Manali in Mumbai. They each met within the Mumbai airport when Manali was touring together with her mom in her 20s. Manali received fully obsessed with Dilip there and through an interview, she recollects,
“In those days I used to wear a rope of tiny wooden and ivory beads wrapped around my throat. Ya! I was totally sold out on everything about him — those beads, his dimples, his shirt, his wrist — everything! It was just him.”
She additional provides,
“I’m still crazy about you after all these years. There’s still the same excitement when you come home and the same longing when you’re away.”
- His subsequent finest inning got here in opposition to England in 1982, whereby in reply to England’s first-inning rating of 433 runs, India was all out on 128 runs. The recreation was all in England’s hand when within the second inning, Dilip scored 157 runs mixed with Kapil Dev’s 89 may handle to lower the hole when it comes to runs however couldn’t forestall his aspect from a jaw of defeat. England received the match by seven wickets.
- Recalling that inning, he advised,
“I was on the way to score a double hundred, more than that. We were shot out early in the first innings (128 all out), so we were trying to save the match. It’s all ifs and buts. It was a slow bouncer from (Bob) Willis, edged it, and was caught at deep fine leg. That was an enjoyable inning. The wicket was good. Sunshine throughout the day, wicket became a beauty. That one delivery I played badly. Call it complacency, overconfidence.”
- He was then included within the Indian squad for the 1983 Cricket World Cup that went on to win the World Cup trophy, thus turning into the primary crew other than West Indies to seize that coveted title.
- His finest season was in 1985 until 1987 the place he scored centuries in opposition to a number of the high cricket sides on the planet comprising of Australia, England, Pakistan, West Indies, and Sri Lanka. Out of those centuries, few have are available consecutive video games. He scored eight centuries in 16 take a look at matches throughout that interval.
- In 1986, he helped his aspect to win the first-ever take a look at collection in opposition to England of their homeland the place he was awarded the Man of the Series (now Player of the Series) for scoring three consecutive centuries at Lord’s Cricket Ground (London) and scripting his identify within the historical past books. This was his third tour to England. Remembering that particular second, Dilip recalled,
“I am always surprised whenever I am at Lord’s. The English fans know who’s who. They still believe in autographs and photographs. But they don’t disturb you. They wait for their moment to approach you. When I first toured in 1979, everybody had said that you’ll be written about only if you score runs in England. And Lord’s, well, you read so much about the ground, hear so much about it on the commentary that you want to succeed there. More than two centuries old, and the way they care about their history and tradition is unbelievable. Now, just making that walk to the stadium, walking on the greens there, you get goose pimples. It feels like yesterday, yaar.”
- Before that, when Dilip was batting on 85, India misplaced 9 wickets, and in walks Maninder Singh. The rating was 303 runs with 9 runs lead.
- A couple of weeks later, he scored 61 and unbeaten 102 runs. This set the tone for India for his or her first collection take a look at victory for India in England. He completed that tour with 793 runs with a median of 132.16 comprising of 4 centuries. But after the match, Dilip stated centuries and data all simply occur. It’s the win for the crew that issues. Before that collection, he already had a century at Lord however within the apply match in opposition to Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) within the 1979 Cricket World Cup. But a bouncer by Malcolm Marshall stored him out of the remaining matches. He recollects that point,
“I was injured in the middle of the tour, almost two weeks from the final. I was fit for the match but the Indian team was doing really well. And when the team is in good form and performing, the winning combination always stays. Of course, you feel bad missing out on an iconic game.”
- But his success in Lords was not one thing, he achieved in a single day. The lonely stroll from the pavilion began from the massive doorways within the nook of the dressing room, the place there have been corridors crammed with pictures, member rooms, then to the sectioned staircase throughout the uncarpeted lengthy room down the stone step in direction of the bottom between the spectators. His first-inning right here ended with a duck after going through 12 balls. He recollects,
“Rain interruptions, but you soon learn that’s no excuse in England. And at Lord’s, if you score a duck, it’s a long way back. So the second time I went in, I was muttering ‘I don’t want to get a pair at Lord’s. That will be a disaster. I didn’t want that against my name in the record books.”
But within the second inning, he scored 103 runs together with Gundappa Vishwanath who additionally scored a century (113 runs) and helped his aspect to attract that take a look at match. Recalling that inning, he stated,
“In the later part of my England tours, when I played league cricket (unofficial games played across venues such as West Brom, Sunderland, and Chester-le-Street), I came across many grounds with massive slopes. In England, they don’t level the grounds. Headingley too has a slope, it goes the other way, east-west. You could see Bob Willis running uphill.”
He additional provides,
“Players who went in with a positive frame of mind succeeded. At that level, it isn’t like an international bowler will only bring it back in because of the slope. They took it away and you had to adjust. Technically, it is very important in England to stay absolutely side on and play on the off-side. The bowling used to be middle and off to take it away. If you opened up, you’re gone. You’ll square up, you will edge it to slip. Side on, you got a better view of the ball moving away. I loved to drive, but you had to be very careful of the movement.”
- In 1987, he took over the Indian crew’s captaincy from Kapil Dev after the marketing campaign within the 1987 Cricket world cup which was the first-ever world cup of 50-overs. Though he withdrew himself from the semi-finals attributable to a abdomen dysfunction ensuing from a seafood allergy.
- In 1987, the England nice Ted Dexter together with the statisticians Gordon Vince and Rob Eastaway produced the primary rating system of cricket and Dilip was stored proper on the high.
- He had a superb begin as captain together with his two centuries in his debut collection however this journey couldn’t go far as he had the disastrous tour of West Indies in 1989. He additionally had an argument with the Indian Cricket Board (now BCCI). As a consequence, he was sacked because the captain of the India National cricket crew. He led the Indian crew in ten take a look at matches, however in 1989, he misplaced his place within the aspect. In the early Nineteen Nineties, he was purchased again into the crew however couldn’t carry out as per his caliber within the remaining matches of his worldwide profession. In 1992, when he retired, he had essentially the most Test runs and centuries after his teammate Sunil Gavaskar.
- But in his fourth take a look at at Lords in 1990, when he was 34 years of age, he couldn’t rating a century. It was the identical match the place Graham Gooch; the captain of England scored 456 in each the innings and have become the very best particular person run-getter in a take a look at match. He solely manages to achieve 52 runs earlier than he was caught behind by Jack Russell. India wanted 472 runs to win on the final day however received all out on 224 runs. Dilip contributed with 35 earlier than he once more was caught behind. In an interview, he remembers,
“I remember I was stroking the ball really well. At 52, there was nobody on the leg side, and it was such a faint nick (against offie Eddie Hemmings). In India, you wouldn’t hear such edges and you could just stay. In cold England, you could hear such nicks from the pavilion. It was very obvious. I scored 35 in the second but we lost.”
With that, he additionally turns into the one non-English participant to attain three centuries at Lords in assessments. He advised,
“It’s not like they do it aaram se, in a day or two. Immediately after your innings, your name is there”
- But Lords was not essentially the most profitable floor for Dilip. He scored 4 centuries on the Feroz Shah Kotla Ground (now Arun Jaitley stadium) in New Delhi. Also, England wasn’t his favourite opposition. He scored 600 in opposition to West Indies.
- In 1991, throughout a Ranji season, in opposition to Haryana led by Kapil Dev, he smashed 139 runs with an injured thigh throughout his crew’s chase of 355 runs. But as two runs had been wanted, the final batsman within the lineup received run out and his crew Bombay misplaced the finals for the primary time in Ranji Trophy.
- He used to play spin bowling extraordinarily properly in residence circumstances. This could be estimated from the truth that his highest worldwide rating of 166 runs got here in opposition to Sri Lanka at Barabati Stadium in Cuttack on a wicket that aids spin bowling with the puff of mud popping out from the pitch whereas he was batting.
- During his period, he was one of the crucial profitable batters in opposition to the lights of Caribbean quick bowlers slike Malcolm Marshall (1978-92), Andy Roberts (1974-83), and Michael Holding (1975-87).
- It can be been stated that if David Gower was born in India and Dilip was born in England, they might have been nationwide symbols. Where Gower was identified for his creative batting, Dilip is remembered because the low-key professionalism with an introverted nature that doesn’t match the Indian picture of a famous person. But he may very well be broadly accepted in England. Two of the historic matches which he missed had been the 1983 World Cup remaining and the tied take a look at of 1986-87 in opposition to Australia at Chepauk, Madras (now M. A. Chidambaram Stadium). From 1 January 1986 to 31 December 1988, he scored 1800 runs in 20 take a look at matches with a median of 90. In the Eighties, he scored extra runs than a legendary Sunil Gavaskar.
- Post-retirement, Dilip began his personal cricket academy named Elf-Vengsarkar Academy on the OvalMaidan and at Mahul, Chembur in 1995. He additionally turned the Vice-president for the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) in 2003. Actually, he was within the race for turning into the Chairman of the National Selection Committee however was opted out attributable to his insurance policies in opposition to the Zonal illustration. He was additionally made the Chairman of the Talent Resource Development Wing (TRDW) in 2002. The fundamental function of this group is to inherit the brand new cricket expertise within the nation. This program can be supported by the previous Indian cricketer Brijesh Patel. He was then made Vice President of the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) on 17 June 2015. He additionally served because the vice-chairman of the Dadar Union Cricket Committee (DUCC) for 4 phrases.
- In March 2006, he was really useful for the identify of the match referee by the BCCI and was omitted out from that checklist as he was made the Chairman of BCCI’s selectors. During his tenure as Chairman, the Indian Cricket Team didn’t qualify for the tremendous 8s and received omitted in the course of the league phases within the 2007 ICC Men’s Cricket world cup. But Dilip nonetheless remained on this position and performed a key half in nurturing younger abilities in India. With that, he took some daring steps in dropping some senior gamers. MS Dhoni was made the captain of India when he was the chairman of the Selection Committee. As a consequence, in the identical 12 months, below the captaincy of MS Dhoni, India received their maiden ICC T2o World Cup on 24 September. Also, below his administration, India recorded his final Test collection win in England in 2006 below the captaincy of legendary Rahul Dravid.
- In 2020, he was a mentor and head coach of the Telugu Warrior crew within the Celebrity Cricket League Season 5 and took his aspect to a collection win in opposition to the two-time champion Chennai Rhinos.
- He runs three cricket academies; one in Pune and two in Mumbai. It’s an academy that gives free teaching to proficient younger cricketers. He additionally runs a cricket web site which supplies a platform for the kids to go a great distance on this sport.
- On 24 December 2021, a film named ’83’ was launched. This Bollywood film will embark on the profitable journey of the Indian cricket crew within the 1983 Cricket World Cup. It is directed by Kabir Khan and Addinath Kothare will painting the position of Dilip Vengsarkar on this film.
- During his cricket days, he would rise up at 6:00 after which had his breakfast at 7:30. After that, he go away together with his crew at 8:15 to the bottom. After retiring, he would rise up at 6:30 after which had a video chat together with his grandson Nirvaan for ten minutes. Then he does pranayama for 20 minutes, adopted by a 30-min stroll alongside the ocean face. Then he switches off his cell and reads the newspaper. After this, he attends the morning engagements.
- He charges Vivian Richards as the all-time batter of his instances. He additionally included greats like Malcolm Marshall, Greg Chappell, Sunil Gavaskar, Imran Khan, Ian Botham, and Kapil Dev in his all-time enjoying eleven.
- Talking concerning the enjoying circumstances in England, he stated,
“The thing is that once you get acclimatized, the important factor is that, to counter the extra movement, especially off the wicket, it’s important to stay side-on (batting stance). Don’t go for big drives to start with because the ball moves quite a bit and if you go for a big drive when you see a half volley, you are likely to end up in slips or anywhere. So just push the ball rather than going for the big drives. In England sometimes you get overcast conditions and the ball starts moving, then suddenly you get sunshine and it becomes a good batting wicket. You get different seasons in one day in England. So, you, as a batsman, are never settled. In India, once you are set and score 30 plus runs, you can score a big inning. But that doesn’t happen in England. You are never set as such, you know. The ball moves around quite a bit and you have to be careful”
He additional asserted,
“It’s important to have matches. You have practice (net sessions), but the important thing is to have matches and spend time in the middle, not just for the batsmen, but for the fast bowlers and spinners as well. By spending time in the middle, they know what length to hit. That has been a problem for the past 10 years now. Look, when you go to Australia, England, and New Zealand, the conditions are so different. You need practice matches to get acclimated to the conditions.”
- Highlighting his purpose for achievement at Lords, he stated,
“Many of us had played in England earlier. So, we knew how to get acclimatized to these conditions quickly. We had a good preparation time before the Tests.”
- Talking about his enriching journey in cricket for 16 years, he stated,
“When I look back, it’s been a very happy and fulfilling journey. Playing 116 Tests for India is the biggest satisfaction. Add to it, the 129 ODIs, winning World Cup (1983) and World Championship of Cricket (1985). And to top it all, being an India captain. It was a great journey.”
- He was the chairman of the choice committee for crew India when Virat Kohli first received chosen within the Indian crew. When Kohli was enjoying for India A in opposition to New Zealand the place he scored an unbeaten 123 runs, that was the time when Vengsarkar determined to place him within the Indian squad. In an interview with a newspaper, he recollects,
“What I appreciated was that even after his hundred, he went on to win the game for his team and he remained not out. That really impressed me and there I thought that here is a boy that we must push into the Indian team because he was mentally mature and of course we picked him and the rest is history.”
- Talking concerning the 2020 Indian tempo assault, Dilip stated,
“It would be very high on my list, to be honest. I can’t remember when I saw four fast bowlers bowling for India. We used to play three pace bowlers and a spinner. That used to be the bowling lineup. But we had five bowlers. To play with five bowlers requires a positive attitude from the think tank and confidence in the ability of the bowlers. I think they were brilliant, they bowled extremely well and they always kept the pressure on the England batsmen.”
- Talking about Virat Kohli’s determination to step down from the captaincy after the ICC T20 World Cup 2021, he stated,
“I was expecting it. He’s been leading India and has been the No 1 batsman in all formats for almost eight years. He’s been under tremendous pressure to perform because we expect a lot from him every time he goes into bat. The timing of his decision has been perfect. The only thing I hope now is he wins the World Cup and signs off as an India T20 captain on a high. It could be his last hurrah as T20I captain. Besides that, he’s not done exceptionally well in the T20 format as captain. Even in the IPL, he hasn’t led the Royal Challengers Bangalore to a single tournament win. That must’ve played on his mind too.”
He additional provides,
“Rohit deserves to be India’s next T20 captain because he’s done exceptionally well whenever he’s been given an opportunity. In 2018, India won the Asia Cup under his captaincy. Besides that, he’s been an exceptional captain for the Mumbai Indians.”
- There is a e-book devoted to the journey of Dilip Vengsarkar named “1983 Dilip Vengsarkar 27 years old”.
- Out of 185 innings in 116 take a look at matches he performed, he managed to attain 6868 runs with a median of 42.13 which embody 17 hundred and 35 fifties. He additionally featured in 129 One-dayers and scored 3508 runs with a median of 34.73. Apart from that, he additionally performed 434 first-class and List-A video games and scored whopping 22703 runs with a median of 44.08. He has one wicket in his complete cricket profession and that was in First-class cricket. He has his finest efficiency in opposition to Australia. Like one other Asian batter, he has a most profitable profession in Asian Sub-continents. 1987 was his finest season throughout all codecs the place he scored 1493 runs. He has performed below six captains named in chronological order as Sunil Gavaskar, Bishan Singh Bedi, S. Venkataraghavan, Gundappa Vishwanath, and Mohammad Azharuddin. He had featured in all batting positions in worldwide cricket from first to seven but his most favourite place is the 4th slot the place he scored 4743 runs.