Nana Joshi
Encyclopedia
Padmanabh Govind "Nana" Joshi (October 27, 1926 – January 8, 1987) was a cricket
player who kept wicket
for India
in Test cricket
.
Joshi was born in Baroda
, Gujarat, India
in 1926. He first gained attention as a cricket player when he scored 100 notout for Central Province Governor's XI against the touring Commonwealth XI
in addition to dismissing six batsmen . This earned him a place in two unofficial Tests against the same team. Joshi played cricket at a time when India had three or four wicket keepers of the same class. In a career that lasted for nearly ten years, Joshi played only twelve Test matches.
He made his Test debut against England
in the first Test at Delhi
in 1951-52. In the first innings, he caught two and brilliantly stumped two others, but his errors in the second helped England to save the match. Joshi was replaced by Madhav Mantri
for the second Test, who in turn gave way to Probir Sen
in the third. Joshi was picked for the fourth and discarded in favour of Sen for the final Test. Here Sen stumped five batsmen and Joshi found himself out of the team to tour England in 1952
.
Writing in 1985, N. S. Ramaswami
remembered that Joshi "impressed as a dapper and neat performer. Between the overs he walked from wicket to wicket with a certain jauntiness. He seemed to wear the gloves as a lady might at a fashionable ball." Yet in his opinion, Joshi came lower down in the hierarchy of contemporary wicket keepers. Sen and Mantri occupied the top rung, Naren Tamhane
came next, followed by Joshi.
Joshi played in four Tests in the West Indies tour of 1952-53 and three Tests in England
in 1959
. In a match in the Pune summer league in 1957-58, he had a hand in all ten dismissals in addition to scoring 68 out of 117 allout.
He was again selected for India against Pakistan
for the Bombay
Test of 1960-61. Here his career came to an abrupt end. On the first day, he dropped Hanif Mohammad
, 'a simple catch', when the batsman was 12. He went on score 160. "If ever a catch marred or made a series", wrote Vijay Hazare
, "it was this one." Later in the match he made his career best score of 52* and added 149 for ninth wicket with Ramakant Desai
, still an Indian record. But the selectors did not pardon him and he never played another Test.
Joshi captained Maharastra team between 1960–61 and 1962-63. He also served in the Maharashtra cricket selection committee. His benefit match in Sangli
in 1974 earned him 1,25,000 rupees. He dismissed nine batsmen against Gujarat in 1959-60 which equalled the then Indian record .
Joshi's father died when he was eight. His mother brought the young Joshi and his brother to Poona where she brought them up under great hardships. She maintained the family by sewing and providing food for students while Joshi used to clean the utensils and serve food. She supported Joshi until he completed his college education and got a job. Joshi had his schooling at Bhave School and then went to S.P. Bhau college and Wadia College in Pune where he took a B.A. degree. He worked for Standard Vacuum and Hindustan Petroleum
in Pune
, Maharashtra
, India
before dying from liver cancer in 1987.
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
player who kept wicket
Wicket-keeper
The wicket-keeper in the sport of cricket is the player on the fielding side who stands behind the wicket or stumps being guarded by the batsman currently on strike...
for India
Indian cricket team
The Indian cricket team is the national cricket team of India. Governed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India , it is a full member of the International Cricket Council with Test and One Day International status....
in Test cricket
Test cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
.
Joshi was born in Baroda
Vadodara
Vadodara formerly known as Baroda is the third most populated city in the Indian State of Gujarat . It is one of the four cities with the population of over 1 million...
, Gujarat, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
in 1926. He first gained attention as a cricket player when he scored 100 notout for Central Province Governor's XI against the touring Commonwealth XI
Commonwealth XI cricket team
The Commonwealth XI cricket team played over 100 first-class cricket matches from 1949 to 1968. The team started out as a side made up of mostly English, Australian and West Indian cricketers, that toured the subcontinent but later on played first-class fixtures in England...
in addition to dismissing six batsmen . This earned him a place in two unofficial Tests against the same team. Joshi played cricket at a time when India had three or four wicket keepers of the same class. In a career that lasted for nearly ten years, Joshi played only twelve Test matches.
He made his Test debut against England
English cricket team
The England and Wales cricket team is a cricket team which represents England and Wales. Until 1992 it also represented Scotland. Since 1 January 1997 it has been governed by the England and Wales Cricket Board , having been previously governed by Marylebone Cricket Club from 1903 until the end...
in the first Test at Delhi
Feroz Shah Kotla
The Feroz Shah Kotla or Kotla was originally a fortress built by Sultan Ferozshah Tughlaq to house his version of Delhi city called Ferozabad. A pristine polished sandstone pillar from the 3rd century B.C...
in 1951-52. In the first innings, he caught two and brilliantly stumped two others, but his errors in the second helped England to save the match. Joshi was replaced by Madhav Mantri
Madhav Mantri
Madhav Krishnaji Mantri is a former Indian cricketer who played in four Tests from 1951 to 1955. Born in Nasik, Maharashtra, he was a right-handed opening batsman and specialist wicket-keeper who represented Bombay. He is the uncle of former Indian cricket captain and Test run-scoring...
for the second Test, who in turn gave way to Probir Sen
Probir Sen
Probir Kumar 'Khokhan' Sen was an Indian cricketer who represented his country in 14 Tests from 1948 to 1952....
in the third. Joshi was picked for the fourth and discarded in favour of Sen for the final Test. Here Sen stumped five batsmen and Joshi found himself out of the team to tour England in 1952
Indian cricket team in England in 1952
The Indian cricket team toured England in the 1952 season. The team played four Test matches, losing three of them and drawing the other one. In all first-class matches, they played 29, winning four and losing five, with the rest drawn.-The Indian team:...
.
Writing in 1985, N. S. Ramaswami
N. S. Ramaswami
Nallathagudi Srinivasa Ramaswami was an Indian sports journalist who worked for four decades with The Hindu, Mail and Indian Express, and became an assistant editor at all three newspapers...
remembered that Joshi "impressed as a dapper and neat performer. Between the overs he walked from wicket to wicket with a certain jauntiness. He seemed to wear the gloves as a lady might at a fashionable ball." Yet in his opinion, Joshi came lower down in the hierarchy of contemporary wicket keepers. Sen and Mantri occupied the top rung, Naren Tamhane
Naren Tamhane
Narendra Shankar Tamhane was an Indian cricketer who played in twenty one Tests from 1955 to 1960.He was a wicketkeeper batsman....
came next, followed by Joshi.
Joshi played in four Tests in the West Indies tour of 1952-53 and three Tests in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
in 1959
Indian cricket team in England in 1959
The Indian cricket team toured England in the 1959 season. The team played five Test matches against England and lost them all: the first time that England had won all the matches in a five-match series...
. In a match in the Pune summer league in 1957-58, he had a hand in all ten dismissals in addition to scoring 68 out of 117 allout.
He was again selected for India against Pakistan
Pakistani cricket team
The Pakistan cricket team is the national cricket team of Pakistan. Pakistan, represented by the Pakistan Cricket Board , is a full member of the International Cricket Council, and thus participates in , and cricket matches....
for the Bombay
Brabourne Stadium
The Brabourne Stadium is a cricket ground in the Indian city of Mumbai. It is located on 90,000 square yards of reclaimed land along Marine Drive near Churchgate railway station in South Mumbai. The stadium is owned by the Cricket Club of India . Brabourne Stadium is India's first permanent...
Test of 1960-61. Here his career came to an abrupt end. On the first day, he dropped Hanif Mohammad
Hanif Mohammad
Hanif Mohammad is a former Pakistan cricketer. He played for the Pakistani cricket team in 55 Test matches between 1952/53 and 1969/70 and averaged 43.98, with twelve hundreds....
, 'a simple catch', when the batsman was 12. He went on score 160. "If ever a catch marred or made a series", wrote Vijay Hazare
Vijay Hazare
Vijay Samuel Hazare was an Indian cricket player from the state of Maharashtra. He captained the Indian cricket team in 14 matches between 1951 and 1953...
, "it was this one." Later in the match he made his career best score of 52* and added 149 for ninth wicket with Ramakant Desai
Ramakant Desai
Ramakant Bhikaji Desai represented India in Test cricket as fast bowler.Ramakant Desai was unusually fast for a bowler who stood less than 5 feet 6 inches. His size earned him the nickname 'Tiny'. As the only bowler of pace in the Indian team, he was perennially overworked...
, still an Indian record. But the selectors did not pardon him and he never played another Test.
Joshi captained Maharastra team between 1960–61 and 1962-63. He also served in the Maharashtra cricket selection committee. His benefit match in Sangli
Sangli
Sangli is a city in the state of Maharashtra of India. Sangli is known as the Turmeric city for its vast production of Turmeric. Sangli is situated on the banks of river Krishna and is the largest market place for Turmeric in Asia and houses many sugar factories, which it is also noted for...
in 1974 earned him 1,25,000 rupees. He dismissed nine batsmen against Gujarat in 1959-60 which equalled the then Indian record .
Joshi's father died when he was eight. His mother brought the young Joshi and his brother to Poona where she brought them up under great hardships. She maintained the family by sewing and providing food for students while Joshi used to clean the utensils and serve food. She supported Joshi until he completed his college education and got a job. Joshi had his schooling at Bhave School and then went to S.P. Bhau college and Wadia College in Pune where he took a B.A. degree. He worked for Standard Vacuum and Hindustan Petroleum
Hindustan Petroleum
Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited , is an Indian state-owned oil company headquartered at Mumbai, India and is a Fortune 500 company of India listed at number 336....
in Pune
Pune
Pune , is the eighth largest metropolis in India, the second largest in the state of Maharashtra after Mumbai, and the largest city in the Western Ghats. Once the centre of power of the Maratha Empire, it is situated 560 metres above sea level on the Deccan plateau at the confluence of the Mula ...
, Maharashtra
Maharashtra
Maharashtra is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
before dying from liver cancer in 1987.