Syed Abid Ali, who represented India in 29 Tests from 1967 to 1974, has died in California aged 83.
A medium pacer who was renowned for his high standards of fielding and lightning-fast running between the wickets, one of Abid Ali’s greatest moments on the cricket field came with the bat: he hit the winning runs for India from No. 8
at The Oval in 1971 to give India their first series triumph in England.
These runs came via a “square cut that never reached the boundary as it was engulfed by jubilant supporters charging onto the ground”, as
had been reported on ESPNcricinfo.
He finished with 47 wickets from his 29 Tests, including career-best figures of 6 for 55 in his debut innings
against Australia in Adelaide. His medium pace came with enough variations to test batters. He also recorded six Test-match fifties, including twin fifties
in Sydney later in that debut series.
It could be argued that he was an allrounder, given that those two fifties came as an opener, and he batted at the top of the order in 21 of his 53 Test innings and scored 1018 runs at an average of 20.36 in his Test career. Those fifties in Sydney included “cavalier treatment of the new ball,” the
match report said. Overall, he batted across the order for India, everywhere barring Nos. 4, 10 and 11.
Then, there were his impressive fitness levels and fielding. His ESPNcricinfo profile sums it up thus: “Abid Ali had the feet of a sprinter, the energy of a marathon runner and the will of a decathlete, but his misfortune was that he was born 20 years too early. His game was made to order for one-day cricket: he bowled brisk medium-pace, fielded outstandingly, and was a busy lower-order batsman who ran between the wickets as if on invisible skates.”
His focus on fitness came at a time when it was not the norm in cricket, and helped him gain a reputation both as a close-in fielder and for his spot-on flat throws from the outfield. Former ESPNcricinfo columnist
V Ramnarayan, who was a young cricketer in the Hyderabad domestic circles when Abid Ali was in his prime,
wrote of him: “The punishing regimen of training he followed was often the subject of anecdotes, wildly exaggerated and embellished, but perfect entertainment in the evening after a long day at the ground.”
He was also quite a bit of a character. Ramnarayan wrote: “He was demonstrative in an age when most bowlers tended to hide their emotions. His appeals to God when he beat the edge, and his sardonic grins at batsmen blessed by the Lord – unfairly in Abid’s opinion – were sights to see and remember.”
Abid Ali never went on to establish himself as a premier name in Indian cricket, in part because he had the misfortune of being a bowler in the era of India’s famous spin quartet. He was a mainstay for Hyderabad, though, playing 212 first-class games across 20 seasons, taking 397 wickets at 28.55 and scoring 8732 runs with 13 hundreds and 41 fifties. He played his last Test match in December 1974, his last ODI in June 1975, and his last first-class game in 1978-79.
“Shri Syed Abid Ali was a true all-rounder, a cricketer who embodied the spirit of the game,” BCCI president Roger Binny said in a statement. “His contributions to India’s historic victories in the 1970s will always be remembered. His dedication and versatility made him stand out. My deepest condolences to his family and friends during this difficult time.”
After his playing days, Abid Ali went on to coach Andhra at the Ranji Trophy, and also had stints with UAE and Maldives. At the time of his death, he was living in Tracy, California, with his family.
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