He had arguably the most unenviable task in Indian cricket history – succeeding the famed spin quartet as the country’s spin spearhead. But a mixture of skill and resilience saw Dilip Doshi who passed away on June 23 at the age of 77 emerge unscathed and end up as one of the best spin bowlers, says Partab Ramchand. He had waited so long for his India cap and in the ultimate analysis proved to be a worthy successor to the men he followed. Doshi, Ramchand says, thought about the game endlessly. He was always analysing his opponents, working out new angles and new avenues of attack
On the face of it, Dilip Doshi’s final figures of 114 wickets from 33 Tests at an average of 30.71 with six five-wicket hauls compares favourably with the best of Indian spin bowlers. But those who saw him in action will vouch for the fact that he didn’t suffer by comparison even when it came to the quality of the bowling. Having won the India cap when almost 32, and after having been around the first class circuit for over a decade, Doshi was very keen to make up for lost time, to extend his career and to be very successful. Overall, it can be said that he succeeded in his objective and was in fact dropped when he still had much to offer Indian cricket.
To step into Bishan Bedi’s shoes was no mean task. But Doshi did not waste any time in proving his class by taking six for 103 in his first innings against Australia in Madras in September 1979. On a rain-affected final day, he added two more wickets in the second innings. No Indian bowler had taken eight wickets in his debut Test and it was clear straightaway that he would be the kingpin of the spin attack in future.
Over the next three years, Doshi’s place was unchallenged even as Shivlal Yadav and Ravi Shastri were drafted into the side. He had a regular bag of wickets whether bowling against England or Pakistan, Australia or New Zealand and when he took his 100th wicket in only his 28th Test (incidentally Bedi too had played the same number of Tests to get to the mark), he seemed set to be India’s spin spearhead for some more time.
However, for the tour of Pakistan in late 1982, two young spinners Maninder Singh and L. Sivaramakrishnan were brought in and with Shastri still around, there was now pressure on Doshi to try and hold his place. He felt this was unfair to him as the leading spin bowler in the side. Moreover, he was not happy being sidelined on the tour by skipper Sunil Gavaskar and said so in no uncertain terms in his autobiography Spin Punch published later. By now it was clear that his days as a Test cricketer were numbered. Dropped for the tour of the West Indies in early 1983, Doshi did make one token last appearance against Pakistan in Bangalore in September that year and that was that. He certainly deserved better and, in fact, was confident of being recalled but this never happened.
Along the way though, Doshi did have his moments playing a leading role in India’s victories over Australia and Pakistan during the home season in 1979-80, being the highest wicket taker in the Test series against England two years later and, most notably, shaping India’s memorable victory over Australia in Melbourne in February 1981. This has gone down in history as the Miracle at Melbourne – and why not, for India, 182 runs in arrears, came back to defeat a strong Aussie side by 59 runs.
The home team was the clear favourite to win after being set only 143. Moreover, India had only one fit bowler in Karsan Ghavri and two half-fit bowlers in Kapil Dev and Doshi, with an injured Yadav unable to bowl. The former had sustained a pulled thigh muscle during the Test while the latter was playing with a fractured instep, sustained during the game against Victoria on the eve of the Test. Ghavri took the first two wickets but it was the Kapil-Doshi duo who put in a courageous show in bowling with their handicaps, taking five for 28 and two for 33, who did the most to bring about a totally unexpected victory.
In fact, on the tour, Doshi’s bowling wowed the critics, among them such luminaries like Bill O’Reilly, Richie Benaud and Ian Chappell. Among his opponents, Greg Chappell spoke in glowing terms especially after falling to Doshi both times during the second Test in Adelaide. This was not surprising, for Doshi thought about the game endlessly. He was always analysing his opponents, working out new angles and new avenues of attack. Two deliveries would be on the line of the off-stump, the next two would be on the line of the leg stump, and the following two would be dead straight. He was observing whether the batsman was a front-foot player or a back-foot payer, whether he was stronger on the off-side or leg-side, whether he had a weakness against change of pace or subtle flight or was he particularly disturbed by vicious spin. After a keen study of the batsman’s strength and weaknesses, Doshi would plan his method of attack. As a thinking man’s bowler, he has had few equals.
Doshi, who was born in Rajkot, played in the Ranji Trophy principally for Bengal though he did turn out for Saurashtra later in his career. He also had profitable stints in county cricket with Nottinghamshire and Warwickshire. And wherever he played, he was hailed as a “gentleman cricketer” for he brought a calm and refreshing approach to the rather volatile atmosphere of late 20th Century cricket.
(The writer is a veteran sports writer who spent his career working for The Indian Express and The Telegraph and Sportsworld. He lives in Chennai.)
from Webdoux