CRICKET IN THE SUBCONTINENT is marked by spin tracks and a few masters of the art. Bishan Singh Bedi, Bhagwat Chandrashekhar, S. Venkataraghavan are some of the legends that come to mind when we speak of Indian spinners. However, Palwankar Baloo was a name that laid the foundation on which this fortress was built. He was not only an inspiration for aspiring cricketers but also for young B.R. Ambedkar, who is known as the architect of the Indian constitution.

Despite his achievements on the field, Palwankar Baloo was never treated as an equal off it. At tea breaks, while his upper-caste teammates sat inside the pavilion drinking from porcelain cups, Baloo, a Dalit, was made to stand outside and drink from a separate clay cup. His story is not just about a legend of the sport, but an example of an era where caste discrimination persisted even in a sport often called the "gentleman's game."

Palwankar Baloo: From Groundsman to India's Greatest Spin Bowler

Palwankar Baloo was born on March 19, 1876 in Dharwad to a family belonging to the Chamar community. According to historian and cricket enthusiast Ramachandra Guha's book A Corner of a Foreign Field: The Indian History of a British Sport, Baloo's father worked with the British Army in Poona, where Baloo and his younger brothers first learnt cricket using equipment discarded by British officers.

Like many children in poor families, he began working at a young age. His introduction to the game was not as player but as a groundsman.

"Baloo's own first job was at a cricket club run by Parsis. Here he swept and rolled the pitch, and occasionally bowled to the members at the nets. For this work he took home Rs 3 a month," Guha writes.

Later, he joined the prestigious Poona Club, where he prepared pitches, set up nets and bowled to British club members. One of those members was English cricketer Captain J.G. Greig, who quickly realised Baloo's spin bowling talent.

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According to Guha, Hindu cricket administrators were divided over selecting Baloo in the team because he belonged to a Dalit community. It was Greig who convinced them that leaving out such a talented bowler because of his caste would be foolish. Guha notes that Greig’s attempt shouldn’t necessarily be seen as him trying to reform society, but simply wanting to test himself against a talented net bowler in competitive matches.

Once selected, Baloo soon became the biggest weapon of the Poona Hindus team. His left-arm spin troubled even the strongest European sides. His performances also earned him a place in the historic 1911 All-India team that toured England—the first Indian cricket team to play on British soil.

Historian Prashant Kidambi writes in Cricket Country that it took "12 years and three failed attempts" before an Indian team could finally make "its debut on the playing fields of imperial Britain."

When the team returned to Bombay on September 15, 1911, thousands gathered at the harbour to welcome them. Baloo had finished the tour as India's leading wicket-taker and returned home as one of the country's biggest sporting heroes.

The Spin Legend Who Was Still Treated as an 'Untouchable'

The Indian society’s taboo was hard to forego especially in the early 20th century. Success on field did not change how Baloo was treated by his own teammates. According to Guha, caste discrimination continued even inside the cricket ground. "At the tea interval... Baloo was served the liquid outside the pavilion, and in a disposable clay matka, while his colleagues drank in white porcelain cups inside," Guha writes.

He faced similar treatment during lunch. "Baloo also ate his lunch off a separate plate, and on a separate table. But he took plenty of wickets all the same. Due chiefly to Baloo's bowling the Poona Hindus defeated the Poona Europeans and other local sides as well," Guha writes.

Even then, Baloo's performances were impossible to ignore. Social reformer Mahadev Govind Ranade publicly honoured him after one of his major victories, while Indian freedom fighter Bal Gangadhar Tilak also praised his achievements. Slowly, Baloo's cricket started challenging many caste prejudices, even if they did not disappear.

It was also reinforced in his own family as the Palwankar family became one of Indian cricket's first great sporting families. His brothers Shivram, Vithal, and Ganpat all went on to play at a high level. In 1923, Baloo’s younger brother Vithal Palwankar became the first Dalit captain of the Hindu team in the Bombay Quadrangular and led the side to several famous victories.

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The Cricketer Who Inspired Ambedkar, But Later Became His Adversary

Being a Dalit, Baloo's influence reached far beyond cricket. After the 1911 England tour, Bombay's Depressed Classes organised a public felicitation for him. According to Guha, the welcome address was delivered by a young college student who was then unknown—Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar.

Quoting historian Eleanor Zelliot, Guha writes that this was "the first public appearance" of the man who would later become the architect of the Indian Constitution. "By virtue solely of his deeds on the cricket field, Baloo had become a hero and inspiration to countless Untouchables. And the young B.R. Ambedkar was one of them," Guha writes.

However, when both of them became influential figures for their community, they later disagreed on the future of Dalits in India.

Guha writes that Baloo strongly believed in Mahatma Gandhi's view that caste discrimination could be removed through reform within Hindu society. Ambedkar, on the other hand, believed the Depressed Classes would get justice only through independent political rights and by moving beyond the Hindu social order.

During Gandhi's fast against the Communal Award in 1932—a proposal by the British government to allow ‘untouchables’ to become an electorate separate from the main Hindu community, Baloo was among those who appealed to Ambedkar to reach a compromise. The talks eventually led to the Poona Pact. Guha notes that Baloo's decision to enter electoral politics appears to have been "a world first" for a professional cricketer, decades before famous cricketers around the world entered politics.

In 1937, the Congress fielded Baloo against Ambedkar in the Bombay Legislative Assembly elections. While Ambedkar won the election by around 2,200 votes, there was never an ill will between the two Dalit leaders.

Palwankar Baloo died on July 4, 1955. He may not be the first one named when people remember the legendary Indian spinners, but his legacy is much bigger than numbers on a scorecard. He broke barriers by simply entering the cricket field. His craft on the field inspired generations of Dalits who saw in him proof that talent could rise even against deep-rooted discrimination.

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