Dilip Doshi, born on December 22, 1947, in Rajkot District of Gujarat, was a highly valuable persona for Indian cricket. This left-hand batsman`s specialty was his awesome slow left-arm spin. His delivery of flight and spin-turn was indeed impeccable. Dilip Doshi, in the initial stages of his career was a popular name in English county cricket. Indian cricket has got his presence in 28 Tests only, but an enormous treasure of 100 wickets, could be attributed to his credit.
Career of Dilip Doshi
He reflected stamina, vigour and quality in his stunning performance, in spite of his late start in Indian team. Dilip Doshi made his debut, when he was 30 years of age. In this respect he was at par with the renowned Australian leg spinner, Clarrie Grimmett, who also begun, his career in Test Cricket at the age of 30. Doshi could be a prolific wicket-taker, even on the batting-friendly pitches.
Test Career
Doshi first appeared for Team India, as a Test Cricketer when he was already 30 in the Test of 1979-80. He made his Test Match debut against Australia at Chennai and utilized the moment wholeheartedly. He had tremendous bowling figures for that match with 6/103 & 2/64 he was India`s best bowler in the match. Right throughout that series he performed brilliantly for India and in the final encounter at Mumbai he was one of the main forces behind India`s comprehensive victory. He had an impressive bowling figure of 5/43 & 3/60. But he must have felt a greater joy when he took 4/92 at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata
At times, when a bowling foundation, like Kapil Dev could not make for potent inroads in the opposition batting line up, Doshi with his effective bowling could compensate for those accidental deficits. Unfortunately, this superb player was relegated to the background with the rise of the brilliant Bishan Singh Bedi. His flashing career was comparable with that of Rajinder Goel and Padmakar Shivalkar, for his promising attributes was nipped in the bud. However, within a short span, he had proved his calibre before the world.
Test Bowling performances (Coutrywise) for Dilip Doshi
| Opposition |
Matches |
Wickets |
Average |
Best |
5/I |
| Australia |
9 |
38 |
28.15 |
6/103 |
2 |
| England |
10 |
36 |
27.55 |
6/102 |
2 |
| New Zealand |
2 |
5 |
32.80 |
2/18 |
0 |
| Pakistan |
11 |
27 |
38.66 |
5/90 |
1 |
| Sri Lanka |
1 |
8 |
29 |
5/85 |
1 |
| Overall |
33 |
114 |
30.71 |
6/102 |
6 |
ODI Career
Dilip made his ODI outing during the Australian tour in 1980-81. He produced his best bowling figures of 4/30 against New Zealand at Gabba. His averages of 23.81 and 3.96 RPO in ODI matches are impressive indeed. Apart from his great bowling antics, he was not an agile fielder. He was not a proper batsman as well. He played only 15 ODI matches for India. Due to his fielding and batting drawback, all-rounder Ravi Shastri was preferred over him for the 1983 World Cup Championship.
Batting and Fielding Averages
|
Mat |
Inns |
NO |
Runs |
HS |
Ave |
BF |
SR |
100 |
50 |
4s |
6s |
Ct |
St |
| Tests |
33 |
38 |
10 |
129 |
20 |
4.60 |
|
|
0 |
0 |
13 |
0 |
10 |
0 |
| ODIs |
15 |
5 |
2 |
9 |
5* |
3.00 |
20 |
45.00 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
| First-class |
238 |
253 |
70 |
1442 |
44 |
7.87 |
|
|
0 |
0 |
|
|
62 |
0 |
| List A |
59 |
23 |
10 |
95 |
19* |
7.30 |
|
|
0 |
0 |
|
|
7 |
0 |
Bowling Averages
|
Mat |
Inns |
Balls |
Runs |
Wkts |
BBI |
BBM |
Ave |
Econ |
SR |
4w |
5w |
10 |
| Tests |
33 |
55 |
9322 |
3502 |
114 |
6/102 |
8/103 |
30.71 |
2.25 |
81.7 |
4 |
6 |
0 |
| ODIs |
15 |
15 |
792 |
524 |
22 |
4/30 |
4/30 |
23.81 |
3.96 |
36 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
| First-class |
238 |
|
58712 |
23874 |
898 |
7/29 |
|
26.58 |
2.43 |
65.3 |
|
43 |
6 |
| List A |
59 |
|
3084 |
1935 |
75 |
5/24 |
5/24 |
25.80 |
3.76 |
41.1 |
3 |
1 |
0 |
At present, the prestigious status, of this intelligent and entrepreneurial man, is that of the Managing Director of Entrack India, a firm that markets the branded Montblanc pens in India. He has a son named Nayan Doshi, who is also a cricketer at the domestic level.
