Madhav Apte

Madhav Apte Biography

Even if Madhav Apte had done nothing else, he would have been remembered as the only known person to have played alongside both Dr DB Deodhar and Sachin Tendulkar, thus spanning goodness-knows-how-many generations.

But there was more to Apte than that. To begin with, Apte played only 7 Tests, all inside a span of 5 months. He scored a hundred (a big one, 163*, at Queen’s Park Oval), 3 other fifties (in his first three Test innings on West Indian soil), and never played again.

His Test average read 49. His overseas average — from 5 Tests in West Indies — was 51. He got dismissed 11 times, and in 8 of these he scored 30 and more. And yet he was never picked again. Go figure.

Surprisingly, his domestic numbers (3,336 runs at 39) look ordinary in comparison. However, he was a champion for Bombay at the top of the order, leading them to Ranji titles in 1958-59 and 1961-62.

Apte started his career as a leg-spinner, and shot to fame after taking 10 for 10 in an innings in Giles Shield. However, he came under the tutelage of Vinoo Mankad, and made his Ranji Trophy debut once Vijay Merchant, no less, marked him out as his heir.

Merchant played a crucial role in Apte’s career, convincing his parents (Apte hailed from an extremely affluent family) to send him to England in 1952 after the youngster was not picked. He made his Test debut that winter, against Pakistan, went to West Indies, and that was it.

Apte played Kanga League till he was 70. He was later instrumental in bending the CCI rules to make Tendulkar an underage playing member of the club. He was also named Sheriff of Mumbai.

His brother Arvind played a Test for India, while his son Vaman played squash for India (and cricket for Bombay University).

Even in his eighties Madhav Apte plays badminton, and continues to remain a trove of anecdotes and information, making him a delight for youngsters and connoisseurs alike.

Decades later, in his autobiography As Luck Would Have It, Apte hinted at not-too-holy motives of Lala Amarnath, then Chairman of Selectors, for leaving him out of the Test side.

Abhishek Mukherjee

Madhav Apte Batting & Fielding Averages

Career

Avg

100s

50s

Test

ODIs

T20s

World Cup

Madhav Apte Bowling Averages

Career	M	B	R	W	Avg	EC	SR	5WI	10WM	BBI	BBM
Test	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--
ODIs	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--
T20s	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--
World Cup	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--		--