00:00Dilip Doshi
00:01The late plumer who made his mark in Indian cricket.
00:04He waited for years in the shadows, but when his time finally came, Dilip Doshi spun his
00:09way into Indian cricket history.
00:12Dilip Doshi born on December 22, 1947.
00:15He was an Indian left-hand spin baller who played for India from 1979 to 1983.
00:22Although he belonged to a Gujarati background, he made a name for himself in Bengal and in
00:27English county cricket.
00:28Sadly, he passed away on June 23, 2025, at the age of 77.
00:33Dilip Doshi was known for his classical spin-balling, accurate, flighted, and smartly controlled.
00:39Despite his talent, he spent much of his career waiting for a chance behind another great spinner,
00:45Vishen Singh Bedi.
00:46Because of this, Dilip Doshi made his test debut only after the age of 30, a rare feat for a
00:52spin-baller.
00:53When he finally got his break in 1979 against Australia in Chennai, he immediately showed
00:59his class.
01:00He took six wickets in the first innings and two in the second, becoming India's top
01:05baller in that match.
01:06He impressed throughout the series, especially in Bombay and Kolkata, where he performed in
01:11front of a massive 70,000-strong home crowd.
01:15Although he secured his place in the team for a few years, Dilip Doshi could not consistently
01:20win matches for India.
01:22He was accurate, but not always threatening.
01:25One of his few match-winning moments came against England in 1981-82 in Bombay, where he
01:30grabbed five wickets for just 39 runs.
01:33His test career ended soon after the rise of Maninder Singh in the 1982-83 season.
01:39Dilip Doshi was also known humorously as one of the world's best men in test history.
01:44He batted at number 11 in all 38 innings of his test career and had a low batting average
01:50of 4.60.
01:52In one-day international, Dilip Doshi had a short but decent run.
01:56His best performance came against New Zealand in Brisbane with four wickets for 30 runs.
02:01Still due to his weak batting and limited fielding, he was not picked for long, and Ravi Shastri
02:06was chosen ahead of him for the 1983 World Cup.
02:10On the domestic scene, Dilip Doshi began with Surashtra, but achieved more success with Bengal.
02:16He once took an amazing six wicket for just six runs against Assam in 1974.
02:22In total, he took 318 Ranji Trophy wickets at an average of 18.33.
02:28He also played county cricket in England for Nottinghamshire and Warwickshire and ended
02:33his first-class career with 898 wickets at 26.58, a remarkable record indeed.
02:40In 1983, Dilip Doshi led a West Bengal team on a tour to Dhaka and bowled superbly there,
02:46taking seven for 39 and five for 74 in a three-day match.
02:51Back in the 1960s and 70s, Indian domestic cricket had three top left-arm spinners, Rajinder
02:57Goyal, Padma Kumar, Shivalkar and Dilip Doshi.
03:00However, because Vishen Singh Bedi was the mainstay in India's national team, the others
03:06rarely caught a chance.
03:07Goyal and Shivalkar had to settle for an unofficial game.
03:10But, Dilip Doshi was fortunate to finally break through and represented India at the international
03:17level, although later in his career.
03:19Dilip Doshi passed away in London at the age of 77 due to the heart-related complications.
03:24A resident of the United Kingdom for several decades, Dilip Doshi was widely respected
03:30for his classical left-arm orthodox style and cricketing intellectual.
03:34In 33 test matches, he claimed 114 wickets, including six five-wicket hauls, and featured
03:40in 15 ODIs, picking up 22 wickets at a tidy economy rate of 3.96.
03:46Stepping into the arena after that, India's legendary Spain quarter of the 1970s, Dilip
03:52Doshi carved his own path with Goyal and precision.
03:55His time at the near Tengamshire brought him under the influence of West Indies' great
03:59Skargar Field Sobers, who helped refine his approach to the game.
04:04He was known for his strategic mind.
04:06Dilip Doshi once remarked in a 2008 interview, Spinballing is a battle of wits.
04:12This cerebral approach was on full display during the Melbourne Test of 1981, where he
04:17starred with a five-wicket haul, despite playing with a broken toe.
04:21Remarkably, he managed the injury by applying electrodes each evening to reduce the swelling,
04:27a testament to his grit.
04:28His international career ended quietly in the 1980s, partly due to his dissatisfaction
04:34with the directions of Indian Cricket Administration.
04:38He later reflected on his cricketing life in a candid and insightful autobiography titled
04:43Spin Punch.
04:44Beyond the pitch, Dilip Doshi remained a familiar figure at cricket grounds, and he was often
04:50seen in the company of close friends and music legend Mick Jagger, with whom he shared a bond
04:56since 1976.
04:57Dilip Doshi is survived by his wife, Kalindi Sannayan Doshi, a former cricketer for Saray
05:03and Surashtra, and daughter Vishakha.
05:06His legacy lives on through his contribution to Indian Spinballing and the thinking cricketer's
05:11approach he embodied so well.
05:13Dilip Doshi's story is one of the patience, persistence, and passion.
05:17Though he came later to the international stage, his spins left a lasting impression, proving
05:22that sometimes the wait is worth it.
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