Former India cricketer Salim Durani passes away aged 88

On Sunday, April 2, former India all-rounder Salim Durani passed away at the age of 88 in Jamnagar, Gujarat. As per reports, Durani had broken his thigh bone in a fall and had undergone proximal femoral nail surgery in the month of January and ever since, he struggled to get back on his feet.

Notably, he was known for being an aggressive cricketer during his time. The southpaw was very dependable with both bat and ball at that point in time as he ended up playing 29 Test matches for the nation, scoring 1202 runs and picking 75 wickets in the process.

He is best remembered for his brilliant spell against West Indies that helped India win their first Test match on Caribbean soil. Notably, in the second innings of the match, he picked the wickets of two of the crickets' all-time greats, Clive Lloyd (15) and Sir Gary Sobers (0) to bring India back to the game. West Indies, in the end, posted 261 runs on board in the second innings as India chased it down with absolute ease and won the match by seven wickets at Port of Spain.

Meanwhile, in 1961, Durani played an important part to help India win against England in the 1961-62 season, successively taking eight and ten wickets in Kolkata and Chennai respectively. He also ended up as the highest wicket-taker of the series, picking up 23 in nine innings, in what was the second Test series of his illustrious career.

Interestingly, Durani was extremely popular among the mass as he created a special rapport with the fans and earned the reputation of hitting sixes on demand. Born in Kabul in 1934, he made his international debut against Australia on January 1, 1960, while his last game was against England on February 6, 1973. Notably, his only Test century came against the West Indies in 1962 at the Port of Spain while he also has seven half-centuries to his name. Meanwhile, he finished with a batting average of 25.04 while with the ball, he had an average of 35.42.