12 Facts about Ajit Agarkar - The Fiercely Competitive Cricketer

A right-arm medium pacer, Ajit Agarkar was nippy, capable of moving the ball both ways and a more than useful late order attacking batsman. He was hailed as the one of the best things to happen to Indian cricket for a long time. Though never came to terms with being Kapil Dev’s replacement as India’s all-rounder, he made some very important contributions and produced some match-winning performances. He had a relatively short figure yet he could bowl consistently with high speed since he was fit, athletic and had a superb run-up speed. With the old ball, he generated reverse swing to good effect as well.

Here are some interesting facts about Ajit Agarkar:

1. Birth:

Ajit Agarkar was born on 4^th December 1977 in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.

2. Coached by the legendary Ramakant Achrekar:

Agarkar was also coached by Ramakant Achrekar, the great coach in Mumbai whose list of protégés includes the likes of Pravin Amre, Sachin Tendulkar and Vinod Kambli. He attended the Sharadashram Vidyamandir School which is very well known for its cricket.

3. Start as a batsman:

In junior cricket in Mumbai, he started off as a batsman however later transformed himself into a bowler. In school cricket, he hit a triple-century on one occasion and made headlines.

4. India U-17s and U-19s:

In 1994, Agarkar represented India U-17s against England U-17s. Agarkar had consistently batted at No 5 in that series which also featured the likes of Shiv Sunder Das, Andrew Flintoff, Alex Tudor and Gareth Batty. In 1997, he played for India U-19 and hit a century against Sri Lanka U-19 in a game that had the likes of Kumar Sangakkara and Aakash Chopra.

5. Fastest 50 wickets:

Having made his ODI debut in 1998, Agarkar raced to 50 wickets in only 23 matches. At the time, he was the quickest to reach the milestone. Sri Lanka’s Ajantha Mendis broke that record in 2008 reaching the milestone in only 19 matches.

Also check out Top 10 bowlers with fastest 50 ODI wickets

6. Seven consecutive ducks against the Aussies:

During the tour to Australia in 1999-2000 he scored 5 consecutive ducks against the home side. When the Aussies came to India in 2001 he was again unable to open his account on 2 occasions.

7. Fastest Indian to 50 and 250 ODI wickets:      

He holds the record for being the fastest Indian to take 50 and 250 ODI wickets. He got 50 wickets in 23 matches and 250 in 163 games.

8. Fastest half-century for India:

His smashing 50 off only 21 balls against Zimbabwe in an ODI in Rajkot in 2000 broke Kapil Dev’s record of a 22-ball 50. Dev had scored this in 1983 against the mighty West Indies.

9. Century at Lord’s:

His only Test century was scored at the home of cricket, Lord’s. India was facing a huge target against England in 2002 and eventually lost the match however his unbeaten 109 remained a high-point of the match. Legends like Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman could not manage at Lord’s while playing for India while Rahul Dravid finally got his name on the famous honours board in the pavilion at Lord’s nine years after this ton from Agarkar.

10. Most memorable Test match:

At the Adelaide Oval in 2003, Agarkar took 6/41 that helped India to win their first Test in Australia in over 20 years. This famous Test remains his best performance and the only five-wicket haul in the longest format of the game. He played 26 Tests and took 58 wickets.

11. ODI performances:

He was a regular member of the ODI team and even a better performer in this format compared to Test cricket. He represented India in 191 matches taking 288 wickets with the best spell of 6/42 against the Aussies at Melbourne in 2004. He scored 1269 runs included 3 half-centuries. His top score is 95 against the West Indies at Jamshedpur in 2002. He batted at number 3 in this match.

12. Ranji Trophy title in 2010:

In one of the most dramatic Ranji Trophy finals ever witnessed, he took 5 for 81 against Karnataka in Mysore. Mumbai won this thrilling contest by just 6 runs as Agarkar picked up the last wicket to finish the match.