Former Indian all-rounder Syed Abid Ali passes away at 83

Former Indian all-rounder, Syed Abid Ali, passed away on Wednesday, March 12, aged 83. Abid represented India in 29 Tests and five ODIs. Other than his prowess with bat and ball, the late former Indian cricketer was a remarkable fielder too.

Abid returned with career-best figures of 6/55 on his Test debut which came in the first innings of the first Test of the 1967/68 tour of Australia. In the same series, he scored brilliant knocks of 78 and 81 in the final red-ball game at the Sydney Cricket Ground while opening the batting. Abid's Test career went on till 1974. He ended up with 47 wickets and 1,018 runs.  

Abid also had the unique distinction of opening both batting and bowling for the country in seven out of the 29 Tests he featured in. These fixtures included two away games against New Zealand in February 1968, three against the same side at home in the months of September and October in 1969, and two on the tour of West Indies in 1971's months of February and April.

Former Indian cricketer and teammate of Abid, Sunil Gavaskar, remembered the late cricketer's on-field expertise as well as his off-the-field etiquette. 

"Very sad news, he was a lion-hearted cricketer who did anything the team needed. Despite being an all-rounder who batted in the middle-order, he opened the batting when needed. Took some incredible catches in the leg-side cordon, adding an even sharper edge to our wonderful spin quartet," stated Gavaskar, as quoted by Cricbuzz.

"As a new-ball bowler, he has the unique record of getting a wicket with the first ball of a Test match twice if memory serves me right. He loved the tip and run and when promoted up the order in my debut Test match, this tactic resulted in some overthrows which reduced the pressure considerably. He was a thorough gentleman with impeccable manners who spoke professorially. Heartfelt condolences to his family," added Gavaskar.

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Abid played five ODIs. Three of those came in the inaugural edition of the Cricket World Cup in 1975. He top-scored with a vital 98-ball 70 against New Zealand, which ended up being his final ODI appearance. Abid has a stellar First-Class record of 397 wickets and 8,732 runs.