Laxmidas Purshottamdas Jai (1 April 1902 – 29 January 1968) was a major figure in Indian cricket between the wars.[2]
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Laxmidas Purshottamdas Jai | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 4 January 1902 Bombay, Bombay Presidency, British India | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 29 January 1968 (aged 66) Bombay, Maharashtra, India | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nickname | Lallubhai[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Batting | Right-handed | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Role | Batsman | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| International information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| National side |
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| Only Test (cap 13) | 15 December 1933 v England | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Domestic team information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1920–1941 | Hindus | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1926–1941 | Bombay | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career statistics | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source: ESPNcricinfo, 13 May 2020 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Jai was born in a Gujarati family in Bombay.[3][4] Jai was a graceful right-handed stroke-player. Most of his finer innings came in the Bombay Quadrangular competition. He captained Bombay to the title in the first-ever Ranji Trophy championship.
Because of the Hindu Gymkhana's opposition in protest against the jailing of Indian political leaders, Jai along with Vijay Merchant and Champak Mehta were unavailable for trial matches to select the Indian team that tours England in 1932.[5] The tour included India's first ever Test match. His only Test was the first ever in India. He toured England in 1936 but a broken finger restricted his appearances.
He was a selector in the 1950s, before resigning over a dispute during the 1958/59 series against West Indies. The trophy awarded to the scorer of the fastest hundred in Ranji trophy every season was named after him.
Career
editAs was the case with cricketers prior to commercial sponsorships, Jai was employed by the Imperial Bank of India, later State Bank of India, by way of a job for life. This helped to nurture his hobby, philately. He became an eminent philatelist, being in a position to "rescue" every stamped envelope that came to the bank every day. He specialised in British Empire stamps.
Jai died on 29 January 1968 in Bombay from cardiac arrest.[1]
References
edit- ^ a b "L.P. Jai dead". The Indian Express. 30 January 1968. p. 12.
- ^ "L.P.Jai". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
- ^ Bamzai, Sandeep (2002). Guts and Glory: The Bombay Cricket Story. Rupa & Company. p. 114. ISBN 978-81-7167-611-8.
- ^ Guha, Ramachandra (2005). The States of Indian Cricket: Anecdotal Histories. Permanent Black. p. 42. ISBN 978-81-7824-108-1.
- ^ "Relive India's first ever Test match... against England in 1932!". Rediff.com. 1 July 2014. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
Further reading
edit- Martin-Jenkins, Christopher (1980). The Complete Who's Who of Test Cricketers. Rigby Limited. ISBN 9780727012623.
- Mukherjee, Abhishek (2 April 2016). "LP Jai: First captain to lift the Ranji Trophy". Cricket Country.
External links
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