Former Mumbai cricketer Dilip Vengsarkar (born in 1956), who is considered to be one of the greatest batsmen to don the India cap, will turn 66 on April 6, 2022.
Vengsarkar, who was a member of the 1983 World Cup-winning Indian team, played 116 Tests scoring 6,868 runs and 17 centuries. He is the only batsman from abroad to score three tons at Lord’s, the Mecca of cricket.
The right-handed batsman rose to fame when he dominated the fearsome West Indies pace attack that included the likes of Malcolm Marshall, Michael Holding and Andy Roberts. He scored six centuries against the Caribbean side.
Vengsarkar’s illustrious career took flight when he scored a century for Mumbai against the Rest Of India in the Irani Trophy tie in 1975. He made his debut against New Zealand in Auckland in 1975-76 as an opener.
He took over as the captain of the India side from Kapil Dev after the 1987 World Cup but was left out of the squad in 1989 due to a stand-off with the BCCI. He returned to the national team a year later but failed to regain form.
He hung his boots in 1992 and started his own cricket academy—Elf Vengsarkar Academy in Mumbai. In 2006, he was appointed the chief selector by the BCCI and is widely known for scouting India’s two-time ICC World Cup-winning captain MS Dhoni.
