Legendary Spinner Padmakar Shivalkar Passes Away

Padmakar Shivalkar, one of India's finest left-arm spinners and a stalwart of Mumbai cricket, has passed away at the age of 84. Shivalkar represented Mumbai for over two decades, establishing himself as a dominant force in domestic cricket. However, despite his outstanding performances, he never played for the Indian national team, as Bishan Singh Bedi, another legendary left-arm spinner, occupied that position during his era.

Cricketing great Sunil Gavaskar expressed his condolences over Shivalkar’s demise. Gavaskar noted the sorrow of losing stalwarts like Milind Rege and Padmakar Shivalkar in a short span. In his book Idols, Gavaskar had described Shivalkar as one of his cricketing idols.

Shivalkar made his first-class debut in the 1961/62 season at the age of 21 and played until the 1987/88 season, continuing his career until the age of 47. In 124 first-class matches, he claimed an impressive 589 wickets, including 42 five-wicket hauls and 13 instances of ten-wicket match hauls. His most memorable performance came in the 1972/73 Ranji Trophy final against Tamil Nadu, where he took 8 wickets for 16 runs in one innings and 5 wickets for 18 runs in the other, helping Mumbai secure its 15th consecutive title.

Widely regarded as a domestic cricket legend, Shivalkar was honored with the C.K. Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award in 2016 for his remarkable contributions to Indian cricket.