Indian cricket suffered a huge loss on Wednesday (August 15) as Ajit Wadekar, the first man to lead India to a Test series win in England and West Indies, passed away at 77 after prolonged illness in Mumbai.

Wadekar played 37 Tests and 2 ODIs for India from 1966-1974. He was named the manager/coach of the Indian cricket team in the 1990s.

Highlighting his contribution in India’s evolution as a cricketing nation, legendary batsman Gundappa Viswanath has said that Wadekar was one of the best left-handers to have come out from this country apart from being an inspiring leader.

“Ajit Wadekar was a very simple man, but he played very hard cricket. India did very well under his captaincy. We created history in the 1971 tours of West Indies and England. Under him, India started to win overseas. As a person he was good-natured and very helpful. He helped all the cricketers. Especially the cricketers from the State Bank,” Viswanath wrote in his column for The Indian Express.

“He was one of the best left-handers I have seen in the country. And he was a brilliant slip fielder. At first slip, he was the best that I have seen. I made my debut under Tiger Pataudi. Then, Ajit became the captain. But I don’t want to compare the two captains. When you are captaining your country you have to have certain plus points,” he added.

Viswanath was still in his early days when Wadekar’s inspirational captaincy gave India its maiden Test series wins on the Caribbean and English soil in 1971. However, he fondly remembers how Ajit had assigned a role to each player in the team and was always open to seek advice.

“Ajit’s record speaks for itself — winning in the West Indies and England for the first time ever. We were juniors in the team then — me, Sunil (Gavaskar), (Eknath) Solkar. While Ajit, Durani, Jaisimha, Abid Ali were the seniors. But Ajit made sure there was no division between the seniors and the juniors,” Viswanath recalled.

“He preferred to be quiet in the dressing room. But he knew what he was doing. Whatever he wanted to do, he explained to everyone. He was open to taking advice from anybody, especially from the seniors like Jaisimha, Durani and Dilip Sardesai. But he used to take advice from us as well. He never behaved like he was the captain. He never rushed for anything,” he explained.

Wadekar was sacked as India’s captain after the 1974 tour to England. Viswanath termed it as an unfortunate turn of events.

“His sacking after the 1974 England series was unfortunate. Someone who contributed so much as a cricketer and captain, it shouldn’t have happened to him,” Gundappa Viswanath concluded.