Syed Abid Ali, former all-rounder and a key member of the Indian cricket team who applied the finishing touches to two memorable overseas Test wins that echoed beyond the playing fields, passed away in the United States on Wednesday aged 83.
The player from Hyderabad played 29 Tests and five ODIs, making vital contributions with bat and ball. A utility cricketer, Abid Ali would do just about everything India needed on a cricket field – he opened the bowling with his medium pace, and opened the batting in seven of the Tests he played. A brilliant fielder, he was known to snap up difficult catches at leg-slip against spin, and was also a quick runner between the wickets.
In his debut Test against Australia in Adelaide in the 1967-68 series, Abid Ali took six wickets for 55 runs. In the same series, he scored 78 and 81 at Sydney. He aggregated 1,980 runs in Tests and took 47 wickets, in a seven-year career that ended in December, 1974. He also played in the inaugural World Cup in 1975.
He was part of the great India sides that scripted famous first series wins in the West Indies and England in 1970-71 under the captaincy of Ajit Wadekar. To Abid Ali goes the distinction of scoring the winning runs at the historic Port-of-Spain and Oval Tests.
In that England series, his best bowling came in the second Test at Old Trafford where he took four wickets for 64 in a marathon effort of 32.4 overs.
In his tribute, Sunil Gavaskar, his teammate in both the Windies and England series wins of 1970-71, said: “Very sad news, he was a lion-hearted cricketer who did anything the team needed. Despite being an all-rounder who batted in the middle order, he opened the batting when needed, took some incredible catches in the leg cordon adding an even sharper edge to our wonderful spin quartet.
“As a new ball bowler, he has the unique record of getting a wicket with the first ball of a Test match twice, if memory serves me right. He loved the tip and run, and when promoted up the order in my debut Test match this tactic resulted in some overthrows which reduced the pressure considerably. He was a thorough gentleman with impeccable manners who spoke professorially. Heartfelt condolences to his family.”
With his all-round skills, experts believed he was a perfect fit in one-day cricket as was seen in the inaugural 1975 World Cup when he top-scored with 70 at No.7 and claimed 2/35 in the game against New Zealand, in his only innings of the tournament. In his brief ODI career, Abid Ali scored 187 runs and took 7 wickets.
A prominent figure in first-class cricket, Abid Ali scored 8,732 runs and claimed 397 wickets in 212 matches. Playing in the golden era of Hyderabad cricket, he was part of the Fab Four of the Hyderabad side of the 1960s and 1970s, playing alongside crowd-pullers ML Jaisimha, Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi and Abbas Ali Baig.
After his playing career, he had coaching stints with the Andhra Ranji team, in the UAE and Maldives.
“Deeply saddened to hear about the passing of Syed Abid Ali Saheb. His contributions to the game and his unwavering passion for cricket will always be remembered,” said former India and Hyderabad skipper Mohammad Azharuddin.
