Cricket statistics expert Sudhir Vaidya is 80 not out

Sudhir Vaidya

Long before web-based scorecards and detailed records came up on your computer screen through a mere click of a button, men like Sudhir Vaidya provided statistics as box items in newspapers or embellished articles by cricket writers. Vaidya celebrated his 80th birthday yesterday and his love for the game hasn't diminished with age. Cricket statistics still excite him and he swears by his handwritten records for some queries.

While Virat Kohli's team are in the throes of adversity in England where they are 0-2 down in the five-match Pataudi Trophy series, it was the other way round in 1986 when Vaidya was in England as statistician and scorer for All India Radio. Kapil Dev's team was 2-0 up thanks to their wins in Lord's and Leeds. "India had a splendid team then, a good mix which batted quite deep," Vaidya recalled.

Fond memory
Asked about his favourite memory of that tour, Vaidya recalled an incident involving S Madan Lal: "I had gone to Leeds to watch the Indian team train a day before the Test. I noticed Sandeep Patil and Manoj Prabhakar not involved in net practice, so I asked the team manager Raj Singh Dungarpur about them. Rajbhai said they were not in the fray.

"He then asked me if he could talk to me about something. He went on to tell me that he wanted to include Madan Lal in the team. Madan was practising in the nets, but he was not in the original tour party and was summoned from the leagues. Rajbhai wanted some statistics of Madan to press his case when it came to convincing BCCI president Mr Sriraman to include the all-rounder. I promised Rajbhai that I would compile all statistics regarding Madan Lal and hand it over to him that very evening. I did so and Rajbhai used those figures to get Madan in. He justified his selection by claiming three wickets in England's first innings."

True servant of the game
Indeed, Vaidya has served the game more than just providing Raj Singh a good reason to include Madan Lal since Chetan Sharma was injured. He was the Board's official statistician for a number of years and has been a regular contributor to Wisden Cricketers' Almanack.

Before the internet, almost every statistically-inclined cricket fan possessed a copy of Wisden Book of Cricket Records by Bill Frindall, but Vaidya's Figures of Cricket came much before that. The first edition was released in 1962. It was such a fine piece of work that Bombay Cricket Association agreed to publish an updated version in 1976. The Marine Sports published the last edition in the early 1990s. In 1969, Vaidya wrote a book on Vinoo Mankad. While cricket has given Pune-based Vaidya a life of fulfillment, the game is fortunate to have such selfless individuals.

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