All About The Underrated Ex-Cricketer: Dilip Doshi

There are some unsung heroes, who render a helping hand for achieving milestones but never receive due acknowledgments! One such personality is the ex-cricketer Dilip Doshi, who has been a part of many great events in the field of cricket but never received due appreciation!

In this article, let us reflect on his life and get to know about his achievements and controversies!

Profile:

Dilip Rasiklal Doshi (Dilip Doshi) was born on 22 December 1947 in Rajkot, Gujarat. He is one of only four Test bowlers to take 100-plus wickets who made their Test debut after the age of 30. He is a former Indian left-arm spinner and represented India in 33 Tests and 15 ODI matches.

Even before Doshi got a chance to play for India, he made a name for himself while playing county cricket. Doshi also served as the Managing Director of Entrack India. He is also the father of English cricketer, Nayan Doshi.

Less-Talked About Facts Regarding Dilip Doshi:

1. Doshi played his first Test in 1979-80 when he was 32 years of age, and he immediately became Kapil Dev's main foil in an enervate attack. For the next three years, he was an ever-present figure, glasses gleaming, and reached 100 wickets in only 28 Tests!
2. Dilip could play for India only for four years in his life. Doshi probably would have had a long international career in cricket but with the presence of Bishan Singh Bedi, a world-class left-arm spinner already in the team India, he had to wait for his turn. Doshi is among the luckiest of the three great left-arm spinners in Indian domestic cricket history, whose chances of representing India got obstructed because they were born in the same era as Bishan Singh Bedi.
3. Doshi made his Test debut in the year 1979, against Australia in Chennai. He was India's best bowler in the game, finishing with match figures of 8/167, including a 6-wicket trail in the first innings of the match. In the final match of the series in Mumbai (then Bombay), he played a crucial role in India's victory, taking 5/43 and 3/60 in the match tally.
4. During the Melbourne Test in 1981, Doshi took 3 Wickets in the first innings, and 2 Wickets in the second innings. In total, he took 1/4th of Australia's Wicket in his hand! But, No one knows that he had a fracture in his leg while playing this Test series! After many days passed post the series was over, Doshi revealed this in an interview, saying, "There was a fracture in my leg but still I said that I want to play. Every evening I used to get Extracorporeal Shockwave Therapy (ESWT) in my leg, it was very painful but at the same time, it used to reduce the swelling in my leg because of the fracture. Every next morning I had to put my legs in a bucket full of ice so that my feet could get fit in the shoes! But, very few people will understand that why I had to do that.. I did that because I was rest-assured that we will win the series and I had a crucial role to contribute to it!"
5. Doshi's agitated relationship with Sunil Gavaskar – especially during the Pakistan tour of 1982-83 – was primarily responsible for his Test career running into a brick wall.
6. The failure to produce match-winning performances with the ball on a regular basis didn't contribute to his cause either. It is also believed that his cold relationship with Sunil Gavaskar was a reason behind his exclusion from the Test team.
7. Regarding Dilip's controversy with Sunil Gavaskar, he said in an interview, "Sunil Gavaskar was a master Batsman. There are very few batsmen like him, but at many times we didn't use to have even an eye-contact with each other even though he was the captain of our team. A bowler can be as good as a captain wants him to be or makes him, it is simple!"
8. Even though Doshi used to play for India, he spared no pain in pointing out the falses in the Indian Cricket Team. In his autobiography "Spin Punch" he has written, "The Indian Cricket Team is only passionate about one thing: MAKING MONEY! This is extremely disgustful. BCCI works like a "Government under a Government" institution that is not even accountable to anyone or anything."

9. Dilip believes that during his entire career, advertisements and promotions crossed all the boundaries. Highlighting an instance before a One-Day match, He Wrote, "Every talk used to center around sponsorship, prize money, logo royalty, and the match fees. Talks regarding cricket and the match were given the secondary or least importance. Today, No matter how many times Sunil Gavaskar show the love for the Nation, at that time he was a human who was fully endowed with personal liking/disliking, and when challenged, he used to become a hypocrite and often shuffled his talks! During the year 1981-82, he gave me a chance to bowl against England and advised me to take time. Thereafter when India was accused of a bad over-rate then I had to bear its brunt alone as if it was solely my fault, and then Gavaskar distanced himself from the issue!"

ALSO READ: Dr. Bhyrappa On Distortion Of Indian History

By telling such instances, perhaps Dilip has unveiled the ugly side of the Indian Cricket!

– Graphic Content and Written Content Presented By Kashish Rai

(Twitter: @KaafyyFilmyy)