Former Indian all-rounder Syed Abid Ali passed away on Wednesday, March 12th, at the age of 83. Abid Ali, known for his exceptional fielding skills, played in 29 Test matches for India.
Born in Hyderabad, Abid Ali started his international career for India in December 1967 in Adelaide. In his debut match, he achieved his best bowling performance, taking 6 wickets for 55 runs in the first innings with his medium-pace bowling. During the same tour in Sydney, he also demonstrated his batting talent by scoring 78 and 81 runs. His Test career continued until 1974, concluding with a record of 47 wickets and 1018 runs.
Abid Ali had a unique distinction in seven of his 29 Tests, opening both the batting and bowling for India. This occurred in two away games against New Zealand in February 1968, three home games against New Zealand in September and October 1969, and two games during the West Indies tour in February and April 1971.
Sunil Gavaskar expressed his condolences, stating, “Very sad news, he was a lion-hearted cricketer who did whatever the team needed. Despite being a middle-order all-rounder, he would open the batting when required. He was an exceptional fielder in the leg-side catching positions, adding further strength to our fantastic spin attack.”
Gavaskar further added, “As a new ball bowler, he holds the rare record of taking a wicket with the first ball of a Test match twice, if I remember correctly. He was fond of quick singles, and when promoted up the batting order in my first Test match, this tactic led to overthrows, relieving pressure significantly. He was a true gentleman with impeccable manners and spoke eloquently. My deepest condolences to his family.”
In his limited ODI career of five matches, three of them were in the inaugural men’s ODI World Cup. In his final 50-over match, he scored 70 runs off 98 balls against New Zealand. Abid Ali’s first-class cricket record includes 397 wickets and 8732 runs in 212 matches, with a highest score of 173 not out.
