 Deodhar on a 1996 stamp of India | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | (1892-01-14)14 January 1892 Poona,Bombay presidency,British India | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 24 August 1993(1993-08-24) (aged 101) Pune, Maharashtra, India | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Batting | Right-handed | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bowling | Legbreak | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career statistics | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Source:CricketArchive,7 July 2019 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Dinkar Balwant Deodhar (14 January 1892 – 24 August 1993) was an Indiancricketer. He playedfirst-class cricket from 1911 to 1948.
Deodhar was born inPoona (now Pune),British India. He was a professor ofSanskrit atPune College.[1]
Popularly known as the Grand Old Man of Indian Cricket, Deodhar was an aggressive right-hand batsman and aleg-break bowler. He captainedMaharashtra inRanji Trophy matches from 1939 to 1941. In his first-class career, he played 81 matches, scoring 4,522 runs at anaverage of 39.32 with a highest score of 246.[2]
Deodhar was vice-president of theBoard of Control for Cricket in India, the President of theMaharashtra Cricket Association, and also anational team selector.
LikeBill Ashdown, Deodhar is one of the few people known to have played first-class cricket both before theFirst World War and after theSecond World War, having played in theBombay Triangular in 1911 and theRanji Trophy in 1946.[3] In a Ranji Trophy game againstNawanagar in 1944, he scoredcenturies in both innings, helping his team win.[4] He was aged 53 at the time.[5]
He was awarded thePadma Shri award in 1965 and thePadma Bhushan in 1991 by the Indian Government.[6] He was the first Indianfirst-class cricketer known to have lived to 100.Vasant Raiji became the second in 2020. Raiji died a few months after becoming a centenarian.[7]
India's former National Badminton ChampionsTara Deodhar,Sunder Deodhar, andSuman Deodhar are his daughters.[8]
TheDeodhar Trophy, a limited overs inter-zonal cricket tournament played in India since 1973, is named after him. In 1996,India Post issued a commemorative stamp in his honour. A bronze statue of Deodhar was unveiled at Pune'sMaharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in 2012.[9]
