Laxmidas Purshottamdas Jai pronunciation (1 April 1902 – 29 January 1968) was a major figure in Indian cricket between the wars.[2]

L. P. Jai
Personal information
Full name
Laxmidas Purshottamdas Jai
Born(1902-01-04)4 January 1902
Bombay, Bombay Presidency, British India
Died29 January 1968(1968-01-29) (aged 66)
Bombay, Maharashtra, India
NicknameLallubhai[1]
BattingRight-handed
RoleBatsman
International information
National side
Only Test (cap 13)15 December 1933 v England
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
1920–1941Hindus
1926–1941Bombay
Career statistics
Competition Test First-class
Matches 1 67
Runs scored 19 3,231
Batting average 9.50 31.99
100s/50s 0/0 6/19
Top score 19 156
Balls bowled 210
Wickets 3
Bowling average 44.66
5 wickets in innings 0
10 wickets in match 0
Best bowling 1/6
Catches/stumpings 0/– 26/–
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

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As 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

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  1. ^ a b "L.P. Jai dead". The Indian Express. 30 January 1968. p. 12.
  2. ^ "L.P.Jai". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
  3. ^ Bamzai, Sandeep (2002). Guts and Glory: The Bombay Cricket Story. Rupa & Company. p. 114. ISBN 978-81-7167-611-8.
  4. ^ Guha, Ramachandra (2005). The States of Indian Cricket: Anecdotal Histories. Permanent Black. p. 42. ISBN 978-81-7824-108-1.
  5. ^ "Relive India's first ever Test match... against England in 1932!". Rediff.com. 1 July 2014. Retrieved 25 April 2023.

Further reading

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