Dilip Vengsarkar recalls late Ajit Wadekar's clout

Ajit Wadekar

Former India and Mumbai skipper Dilip Vengsarkar recalled how Ajit Wadekar organised a passport for him in a day's time, at a condolence meeting held at Wankhede Stadium yesterday. Wadekar passed away on August 15.

"I met Ajit for the first time in 1974 when I was selected for a team captained by him to tour Sri Lanka. I was just 18 and didn't have a passport. I called him to say I can't come on the tour since I didn't have a passport. He called me to his State Bank office and organised the passport for me in one day. He was so popular with everybody," recalled Vengsarkar.

Another ex-India captain - Nari Contractor - said Wadekar's wicket was as precious as current skipper Virat Kohli's while Pravin Amre, who made a century on debut in the Durban Test of the 1992-93 series against South Africa when Wadekar was manager of the Indian team, recalled how he got his first India cap.

"(Before Durban) I was 12th man for 12 Tests. When sir became coach for that tour, he told me that you are playing the Test match tomorrow. He presented me my cap in the dressing room and said, 'Think that you are playing at Shivaji Park and bat.' That gave me self-confidence and hence I could score a hundred," said Amre.

Catch up on all the latest T20 news and updates here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates