Datta Gaekwad

Dattajirao Krishnarao Gaekwad (born October 27, 1928 in Vadodara, India) is a former Indian cricketer. He appeared in 11 Test matches, toured England in 1952 and 1959 and West Indies in 1952-53. He captained the Indian team in the 1959 tour. As a batsman Gaekwad "possessed a sure defence and delightfully crisp shots especially through the covers". He was also an occasional leg spin bowler.

Gaekwad played his early cricket for Bombay University and the Maharaja Sayaji University in Baroda. He made his Test debut at Leeds in 1952, opening the innings, though he had never done it before this tour. His West Indies tour in the next year was terminated abruptly during the second Test when he collided with Vijay Hazare while going for a catch and dislocated his shoulder.

In 1956-58, he captained Baroda to their first Ranji title in nine years. He scored a double hundred against the defending champions Bombay during the course of the season. This was followed by a recall to the Indian team for the final Test against West Indies in 1958-59. His 52 in the second innings was the only fifty of his career and went some way towards India earning an honourable draw.

With Hemu Adhikari, who had captained in this match, being unavailable, Gaekwad led the Indian team to the tour of England in 1959. He suffered from illness throughout the series and did not have much control over the team. It did not help that he had another man from Baroda as the manager, which did not go well with...
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