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Janardan Navle was born on this day, 1902.
As any Indian cricket fan will tell you, he was the first Indian to
- keep wickets
- face a ball
- get dismissed
in Test cricket.
Navle was an excellent wicketkeeper, renowned for standing up to pacers.
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As any Indian cricket fan will tell you, he was the first Indian to
- keep wickets
- face a ball
- get dismissed
in Test cricket.
Navle was an excellent wicketkeeper, renowned for standing up to pacers.
+
Remember, this was an era when India produced several bowlers of serious pace.
How good was Navle?
Hobbs compared him with Oldfield and Duckworth, the two champions of the era.
Cardus called him "polished" and "quicksilver".
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How good was Navle?
Hobbs compared him with Oldfield and Duckworth, the two champions of the era.
Cardus called him "polished" and "quicksilver".
+
Cardus is known for his (sometimes baseless, sometimes not) exaggerations.
But Wisden isn't... and they wrote that Navle was "a first-rate wicket-keeper, very quick in all he did."
From 65 First-Class matches, he had 1,917 runs with 9 fifties, 101 catches and 36 stumpings.
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But Wisden isn't... and they wrote that Navle was "a first-rate wicket-keeper, very quick in all he did."
From 65 First-Class matches, he had 1,917 runs with 9 fifties, 101 catches and 36 stumpings.
+
Navle also played India's first two Tests, scoring 42 runs and taking a catch.
He used to work as a security officer in a sugar mill.
He spent his last days living in a two-bedroom apartment in Poona, and passed away in 1979.
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He used to work as a security officer in a sugar mill.
He spent his last days living in a two-bedroom apartment in Poona, and passed away in 1979.
+
Note:
Some sources suggest that he died in extreme poverty, and was seen begging on the Bombay-Poona highway.
This is not true.
@ajay_kalaskar, his daughter's son, has confirmed that Navle's son took looked after his father well.
Janardan Navle died in Sassoon Hospital, Pune.
Some sources suggest that he died in extreme poverty, and was seen begging on the Bombay-Poona highway.
This is not true.
@ajay_kalaskar, his daughter's son, has confirmed that Navle's son took looked after his father well.
Janardan Navle died in Sassoon Hospital, Pune.
