Mentor, curator, coach… Sudhir Naik was master of all | Cricket News – Times of India

MUMBAI: Former India opener and Mumbai Ranji-winning captain Sudhir Naik passed away on Wednesday. He was 78. Naik had been hospitalised after suffering a fall at his residence in Dadar on M arch 24. The final rites will be held at the Shivaji Park crematorium at 10 am on Thursday.
Naik’s wife Vasundhara Pendse Naik, a famous personality in the literary field, died a few years back after battling cancer. He is survived by his daughter Radhika Deshpande, who lives in Melbourne.
Naik played three Tests, in which he scored 141 runs@23.50, and two ODIs (38 runs@19.00) in the 70s. The Mumbai opener made his Test debut at Edgbaston in 1974 and scored a gritty 77, though India suffered an innings defeat. His last Test came at the Eden Gardens against the West Indies in 1975.

In a prolific domestic career, Naik amassed 4376 runs in 85 First-Class matches@35.29, with seven hundreds and 27 fifties. He scored 2687 runs (40.10) with a highest score of 200 not out against Baroda in 1973-74, for Bombay (now Mumbai) in the Ranji Trophy.
One of his biggest achievements was that at a young age, he led Bombay to an unexpected, memorable Ranji Trophy triumph in 1970-71, beating a star-studded Maharashtra team, captained by Chandu Borde, in the final at the Brabourne Stadium, which was played from April 2-7, 1971. It was a depleted side with all the Bombay Test stars of that time, including Sunil Gavaskar and Ajit Wadekar, being away with the Indian team in the West Indies. On August 6, 2021, that team was honoured to mark the golden jubilee of that title win, which was Bombay’s 22nd triumph.
Post retirement, he was the owner & coach of the National Cricket Club, which produced the likes of Zaheer Khan, Wasim Jaffer and Nilesh Kulkarni. He was also the chief curator of the Wankhede Stadium for several years, and most memorably in the 2011 World Cup final. He also served the MCA as a chief selector and managing committee member.
Acknowledging the instrumental role that Naik played in his career, Zaheer, who visited him in the hospital recently, told TOI: “I was remembering my first interaction with Sudhir sir. When he saw me bowl for the first time, he had an interesting conversation with me, which I can never forget. He told me: ‘I’m going to make you play all the ‘A’ Division games’ (in local cricket). I’m going to put my effort on you and I’m not going to let you go back. I had no clue about ‘A’ Division. I was 18, starting off, and coming from Shrirampur (in Maharashtra). He had great clarity. To see someone showing that kind of trust in me, impacted me. I don’t know what he saw in me that he decided to back me so much. He actually told the captain of the club: ‘He’s playing all the games. His name will be first in the playing XI. His demise is a big loss for me.”
“We called him James after James Bond as he had that cool demeanour . He served Numbai cricket not just as a player but after retirement making some really good pitches at the Wankhede . Not to forget the many youngsters he discovered and encouraged at the National cricket club. A big loss to Indian cricket,” Gavaskar told TOI.
Paying tribute to Naik, former India skipper Dilip Vengsarkar said, “He was my first captain at the Tata Sports Club team way back in 1976. We had a lot of big partnership s playing for Tatas &Mumbai. In fact, we had a 202-run first wicket partnership against Baroda in only my second Ranji Trophy match. Later, Sudhir played under me for Tatas and we were members of the Mumbai selection committee.”
“He was a straight-forward person. His contribution to his club National and Mumbai, first as a player and later as an administrator was remarkable. He was a good curator and had tremendous knowledge of how to make good cricket wickets which he did relentlessly at Wankhede without any expectation,” eulogised Vengsarkar.
Elaborating on his vital role in Wankhede staging the World Cup final in 2011, former BCCI CAO Prof Ratnakar Shetty, who was the tournament director, said, “But for him , staging the World Cup matches in Wankhede would have been difficult. That was his most important role and contribution to Indian cricket. But for his tremendous efforts, Wankhede wouldn’t have been ready. He had only six months’ time in hand to get the wickets and outfield ready, and that too amid all the construction that was going on. There was a time when Mr (Sharad) Pawar was doubtful about Wankhede staging the World Cup, and he had agreed to shift the matches to the DY Patil Stadium. However, he assured Pawar that the ground and wicket will be ready.”